Field & Main Bank Cuts Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Field & Main Bank lowered its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $376,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Ameren by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 227,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,442,000 after purchasing an additional 46,577 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at about $433,000. Stack Financial Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $11,438,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $151,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.40.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $74.35. 1,392,938 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,731,385. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $90.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.47.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

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