Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.70.

Ameren Stock Up 0.2 %

AEE stock opened at $98.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $92.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.63. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.31 and a one year high of $100.61.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.52% and a return on equity of 10.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.89%. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

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.