Creekmur Asset Management LLC Makes New $94,000 Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $94,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank raised its holdings in Ameren by 96.7% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total transaction of $302,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameren Trading Up 0.2 %

AEE traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,089,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,539,200. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $88.72. The stock has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ameren from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.70.

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.