Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Increases Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,764,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,705 shares during the quarter. Ameren comprises about 1.5% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.67% of Ameren worth $127,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AEE. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

Ameren Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of AEE traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $74.52. The company had a trading volume of 242,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,713,047. The company has a market capitalization of $19.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $90.72. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $72.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.47.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company’s revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 61.33%.

Ameren 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.