Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Stake Boosted by Kingsview Wealth Management LLC

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 40.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $98.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.68 and a 12 month high of $98.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.17.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.