Ameren Corporation $AEE Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Ameren Corporation by 49.6% in the first quarter, holding 412,337 shares valued at approximately $41.4 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including MJT & Associates and SouthState Corp, made adjustments to their positions in Ameren during the same period, indicating active institutional interest in the stock.
• Ameren has recently declared a $0.71 quarterly dividend, set to be paid on September 30th, representing a 2.8% annual yield.

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 49.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 412,337 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 405,067 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.15% of Ameren worth $41,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the first quarter worth approximately $241,496,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,404,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,851,821,000 after buying an additional 1,355,848 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,314,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,445,138,000 after buying an additional 979,928 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,134,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $190,250,000 after acquiring an additional 926,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 11,913.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,500,000 after acquiring an additional 795,120 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total transaction of $101,790.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $929,240.91. The trade was a 9.87% 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. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:AEE traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $100.41. The stock had a trading volume of 999,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,066. The company has a market cap of $27.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.31. Ameren Corporation has a 1-year low of $82.95 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. Analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.