Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV Invests $225,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV purchased a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ameren by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 331,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,019,000 after purchasing an additional 19,217 shares during the period. Prudent Investors Network Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameren during the third quarter valued at $211,000. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 4.2% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ameren by 5.4% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 45,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,996,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 146,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,837,000 after purchasing an additional 8,573 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was 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 owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $87.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.85. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $89.54.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Ameren 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.