Prosperitas Financial LLC Purchases 1,557 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Prosperitas Financial LLC lifted its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Ameren makes up 1.5% of Prosperitas Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $99.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $93.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.51. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $100.61. The firm has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AEE. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays downgraded shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.70.

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.