Ameren Corporation $AEE Shares Bought by Reaves W H & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its Ameren stake by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 120,652 additional shares and bringing its total to 1,084,664 shares worth about $108.3 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains moderately positive: nine analysts rate Ameren a Buy, five a Hold, and the consensus target price is $117.54.
• Ameren reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.28 EPS versus estimates of $1.17, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share for a 2.8% annualized yield.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,084,664 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 120,652 shares during the period. Ameren comprises 1.9% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Ameren worth $108,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,097,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 104,698.0% in the 3rd quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,370,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $143,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,450 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,868,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 543,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,754,000 after acquiring an additional 27,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,378,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $352,601,000 after acquiring an additional 116,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $117.00 price objective on Ameren in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Argus increased their price objective on Ameren from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Ameren from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Ameren from $126.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.54.

Ameren Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:AEE opened at $107.91 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $110.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.58. The company has a market capitalization of $29.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Ameren Corporation has a 52-week low of $93.50 and a 52-week high of $115.58.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 17.17%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.96%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.35, for a total transaction of $164,025.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,943 shares in the company, valued at $3,602,317.05. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren 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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