Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Takes Position in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Adams Diversified Equity Fund opened a new position in Ameren during the first quarter, buying 146,200 shares worth about $16.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Ameren is broadly positive, with nine Buy ratings and four Hold ratings, and a consensus Moderate Buy target price of $119.42.
• Ameren reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.28 and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75, implying an annualized yield of about 2.6%.

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 146,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,070,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Ameren at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AEE. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Ameren by 13.6% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,268,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $249,307,000 after buying an additional 270,937 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ameren by 19.4% during the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 602 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at about $1,550,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 4.1% in the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 4,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 8.2% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,731 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AEE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Argus upped their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $115.00 price target on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.35, for a total transaction of $164,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,602,317.05. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $116.35 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $109.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $94.20 and a 12-month high of $118.32. The firm has a market cap of $32.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.47.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.11. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 17.17%.The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 53.96%.

Ameren Company Profile

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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