Ameren Corporation $AEE Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Ameren Corporation by 19.0% in the first quarter, now holding 24,288 shares valued at approximately $2.4 million.
• In recent trading updates, Ameren's stock price targets have varied among analysts, with Barclays lowering its target from $104.00 to $100.00 and Wells Fargo raising it from $108.00 to $112.00.
• Ameren has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, with a payment date set for September 30th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.8%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,687 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $2,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Ameren by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 3.1% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total value of $101,790.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,240.91. This represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price target on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.80.

Ameren Trading Up 0.1%

AEE opened at $99.81 on Friday. Ameren Corporation has a one year low of $81.31 and a one year high of $104.10. The company has a market cap of $26.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $98.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.19.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The business'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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.42%.

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.

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