Beck Bode LLC Purchases 11,569 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Beck Bode LLC grew its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 174,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,569 shares during the quarter. Ameren comprises 2.5% of Beck Bode LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Beck Bode LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $12,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.70.

Ameren Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $85.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $85.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.