Aberdeen Group plc Increases Stock Position in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Ameren Corporation by 9.0% in the second quarter, now owning 140,640 shares worth approximately $13.5 million.
• Research analysts have a generally positive outlook on Ameren, with several upgrades; Goldman Sachs raised its target price from $91.00 to $100.00 and UBS increased it from $111.00 to $114.00.
• Ameren recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71, with a payout ratio of 62.42%, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.7%.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,658 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.05% of Ameren worth $13,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AEE. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 19.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 10.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,560 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 6.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 95.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 8,119 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 8.6% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,299,000 after purchasing an additional 4,182 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ameren from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.38.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $105.36 on Thursday. Ameren Corporation has a twelve month low of $85.27 and a twelve month high of $105.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.41 and a 200-day moving average of $98.77. The firm has a market cap of $28.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 9th. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total transaction of $101,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $929,240.91. The trade was a 9.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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