Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV Purchases Shares of 2,573 Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV acquired a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,429,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 4.2% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Ameren by 1.4% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Ameren by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE AEE opened at $87.78 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $86.10 and a 200-day moving average of $78.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $89.54. The firm has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.04). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 60.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.