Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Invests $206,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Ameren by 115.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Ameren in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 108.1% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 227.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $91.22 on Friday. 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 one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $92.77. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

About Ameren

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.