Prosperitas Financial LLC Acquires 2,398 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Prosperitas Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,398 shares during the period. Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 100,874.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 74,273,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,604,406,000 after buying an additional 74,200,015 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ameren by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,824,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,051,453,000 after buying an additional 2,200,700 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Ameren by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,889,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,302,326,000 after buying an additional 1,029,187 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 7,133.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $694,670,000 after buying an additional 947,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,978,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,810,808,000 after purchasing an additional 681,658 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE stock traded down $1.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.25. 144,268 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,781,822. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $91.18.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 61.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AEE. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 18th. Bank of America increased their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.40.

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.