IFP Advisors Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 84.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 637 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Ameren were worth $124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Ameren by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Ameren by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,801,000 after buying an additional 4,949 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ameren by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 146,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,837,000 after buying an additional 8,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Ameren by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 45,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,996,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.40.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock opened at $100.01 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $94.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.