D.A. Davidson & CO. Purchases 313 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Ameren by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 46,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Ameren by 380.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 29,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,723,000 after acquiring an additional 23,096 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $97.07 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $100.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 60.63%.

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.