Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,756 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AEE. Legacy Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 4,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter valued at $204,000. LVW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at $254,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 146,250.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,927 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 2,925 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Ameren by 7.1% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,991 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AEE traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $96.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,458,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,565,165. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $25.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $97.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.55.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $114.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.00.

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.