Aberdeen Group plc Raises Holdings in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Ameren Corporation by 2.6%, acquiring an additional 3,324 shares, bringing its total to 128,982 shares worth approximately $12.95 million.
• Multiple analysts have updated their ratings for Ameren, with Wells Fargo raising the target price to $112.00 while several others adjusted their ratings resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.36.
• Ameren has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, which will be paid on September 30th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.8%.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,982 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,324 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Ameren were worth $12,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 37,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,311,000 after purchasing an additional 9,294 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 5,995 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ameren by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,036,224 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $92,373,000 after purchasing an additional 31,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AEE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 target price on Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.36.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock traded up $0.4360 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $101.9360. The company had a trading volume of 1,195,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,359. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.37 and a 200-day moving average of $98.09. The company has a market capitalization of $27.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $81.31 and a 12-month high of $104.10.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

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

About Ameren

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.