Advisors Preferred LLC Acquires Shares of 88,253 Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 88,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,884,000. Ameren makes up 1.2% of Advisors Preferred LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 74.5% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 586.9% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 29.6% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $100.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,030,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,743,847. Ameren Corporation has a 52-week low of $77.08 and a 52-week high of $104.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $96.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $27.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Ameren's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's payout ratio is 62.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Five 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.36.

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.