Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Insider Shawn E. Schukar Sells 4,743 Shares of Stock

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ameren Trading Down 3.5 %

AEE stock opened at $100.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $26.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.39 and a 200-day moving average of $90.06.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 64.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.5% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Ameren by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.40.

About Ameren

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.