Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Prosperitas Financial LLC

Prosperitas Financial LLC raised its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the quarter. Ameren accounts for about 1.5% of Prosperitas Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,180,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its stake in Ameren by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 45,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,092,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 35,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lowered shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.70.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $99.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $93.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $100.61.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.63%.

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.