BOS Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

BOS Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,111 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Ameren by 115.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 117.6% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 226 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AEE opened at $88.74 on Thursday. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $88.90. The stock has a market cap of $23.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.28. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AEE. 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 report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.