Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Krilogy Financial LLC

Krilogy Financial LLC increased its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $8,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Ameren by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,048,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,411,125,000 after purchasing an additional 392,170 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ameren by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,038,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,518,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,811 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,749,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $600,157,000 after purchasing an additional 77,282 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 96.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,170,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $460,917,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Ameren by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,601,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $410,174,000 after purchasing an additional 39,455 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $95.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.66. The company has a market cap of $25.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AEE. Barclays lifted their price target on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 target price on Ameren and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

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.