State of Alaska Department of Revenue Boosts Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the first quarter valued at $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 108.1% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 227.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $86.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.33. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $89.54.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AEE. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

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.