Commerce Bank Cuts Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Commerce Bank reduced its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,160 shares during the period. Commerce Bank owned about 0.06% of Ameren worth $12,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 163.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.37. 275,516 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,741,730. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.59. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $88.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

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.