Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $359.07 Million Stock Position in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 51.7% during the first quarter, acquiring 1,218,509 shares to hold a total of 3,576,385 shares valued at $359 million.
• The company reported $1.01 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a quarterly revenue of $2.22 billion, marking a 31.2% year-over-year increase.
• Ameren's upcoming quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share represents an annualized yield of 2.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 9th.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 51.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,576,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,218,509 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 1.32% of Ameren worth $359,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. Whittier Trust Co. increased 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 valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 3.1% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 5.3% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on AEE shares. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated 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 issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total value of $101,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $929,240.91. This represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Ameren stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $99.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 385,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,694,440. The company has a market capitalization of $26.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $99.49 and a 200 day moving average of $98.28. Ameren Corporation has a 12 month low of $82.79 and a 12 month high of $104.10.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.