Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,674 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Ameren by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE AEE traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,117,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,657,352. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $100.61. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $92.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.86.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut Ameren from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.70.

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.