112,928 Shares in Ameren Corporation $AEE Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems and affiliated entities purchased 112,928 Ameren shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $12.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.09% of the utility company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $121.42. Ameren recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.13 versus the $1.08 consensus estimate, despite a 5.8% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Ameren declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, equivalent to $3.00 annually and a 2.8% yield. Company insiders, who own 0.29% of the stock, recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 112,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,765,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV increased its stake in Ameren by 2.2% in the first quarter. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV now owns 4,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 4.3% during the first quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 2,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 602 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Theresa Shaw sold 325 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.93, for a total value of $35,402.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,522,796.20. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.96, for a total value of $708,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 199,689 shares in the company, valued at $21,758,113.44. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AEE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ameren from $126.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $122.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BTIG Research set a $126.00 price objective on Ameren in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ameren from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.42.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $106.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Ameren Corporation has a 1-year low of $96.57 and a 1-year high of $118.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $109.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.22.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 17.86%.The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The company's revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.82%.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation NYSE: AEE is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren's core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.

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