Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Ameren by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 8,264 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 29,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,137,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $82,294,000 after purchasing an additional 82,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 35,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,538,000 after purchasing an additional 13,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $88.02 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $88.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.33.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business.