Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Krilogy Financial LLC

Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,211 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $8,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at about $303,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Ameren by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,560 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 62.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 850 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at about $199,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 109.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,185,000 after purchasing an additional 16,585 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Down 0.4%

AEE traded down $0.39 on Tuesday, hitting $94.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,409,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,573,411. The company's fifty day moving average price is $97.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.66. Ameren Corporation has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 10.40%. Ameren's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. Barclays upped their price target on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp raised shares of Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $114.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.00.

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.