United Services Automobile Association Invests $628,000 in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has purchased 6,300 shares of Ameren Corporation, valued at approximately $628,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Ameren, with the stock holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $102.80.
• Ameren has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share to be paid on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $628,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,314,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,445,138,000 after acquiring an additional 979,928 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Ameren by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,404,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,851,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355,848 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Ameren by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,658,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $467,741,000 after purchasing an additional 646,000 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Ameren by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,576,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $359,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 5.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,825,064 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $283,636,000 after buying an additional 151,808 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AEE. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.80.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total value of $101,790.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares in the company, valued at $929,240.91. The trade was a 9.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $100.79. 917,327 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,384,878. The firm has a market cap of $27.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.47. Ameren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $82.95 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

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.