2,939 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Bought by Foundations Investment Advisors LLC

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Powers Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth $226,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Ameren by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,346,000 after acquiring an additional 8,540 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 77.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Ameren by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 30,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,682,000 after purchasing an additional 2,561 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.80.

Ameren Trading Down 1.4 %

AEE opened at $87.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $89.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.99.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.