Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 2,437 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 35,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,437 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameren in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Ameren Stock Up 0.6 %

AEE opened at $83.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $85.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.97.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.