Ameren Corporation $AEE Stake Raised by International Assets Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• International Assets Investment Management increased its Ameren stake by 652% in the third quarter, ending with 85,000 shares valued at approximately $8.45 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.09% of Ameren’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.74, despite several recent price-target reductions and one downgrade to “sell.”
• Ameren reported quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue fell 5.8% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75, equivalent to a 2.7% annualized yield.

International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 652.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 73,697 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $8,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Amundi increased its position in Ameren by 106.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 919,349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $101,055,000 after purchasing an additional 473,048 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,637,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at about $3,982,000. Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at about $2,232,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at about $3,288,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.96, for a total transaction of $708,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 199,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,758,113.44. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.53, for a total value of $26,171.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,465,600.64. The trade was a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 7,073 shares of company stock worth $769,814 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AEE. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Ameren from $124.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on Ameren from $117.00 to $109.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ameren from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, October 25th. Scotiabank started coverage on Ameren in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Ameren from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $116.74.

Ameren Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $110.45 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Corporation has a 52-week low of $96.57 and a 52-week high of $118.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.53.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 17.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 5.40 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 8th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 8th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.82%.

Ameren Profile

Ameren Corporation is a regulated electric and natural gas utility holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its operating companies, Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois, the company provides electric generation, transmission and distribution services, as well as natural gas distribution.

Ameren serves approximately 2.5 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers across Missouri and Illinois. Its operations include a diverse generation portfolio and infrastructure designed to deliver reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while supporting the transition toward cleaner energy resources.

Ameren was formed in 1997 through the merger of Union Electric Company and CIPSCO Inc The company is led by Martin J.

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