Ameren Corporation $AEE Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 1.4% in Q4, purchasing 495,945 shares to hold 35,645,555 shares (about 13.18%) valued at roughly $3.56 billion.
• Ameren raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (from $0.71), implying a $3.00 annualized payout, a 2.7% yield and a payout ratio of 56.07%.
• Ameren reported Q4 EPS of $0.78 (vs. $0.77 est.) and revenue of $1.78B (beat estimates) despite an 8.2% YoY revenue decline; analysts’ consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $117.31.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,645,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 495,945 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.18% of Ameren worth $3,559,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $1,327,000. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in Ameren by 83.2% in the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 22,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 10,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $806,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $112.22 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $110.94 and a 200-day moving average of $105.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $31.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.52. Ameren Corporation has a 1-year low of $93.27 and a 1-year high of $115.53.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 16.55%.The company's revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 56.07%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total transaction of $673,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 193,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,002,673.60. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEE. Barclays increased their price target on Ameren from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ameren from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday. Argus raised 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 initiated coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.31.

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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