Ameren Corporation $AEE Shares Acquired by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its position in Ameren Corporation by 12.2%, owning 72,272 shares valued at approximately $7.26 million after acquiring an additional 7,866 shares in Q1.
• Several analysts recently upgraded Ameren's stock ratings and price targets, with Goldman Sachs raising it from a "sell" to "neutral" and setting a new price objective of $100.00.
• Ameren also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.8% and reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 62.42%.

Comerica Bank raised its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,866 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Ameren were worth $7,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 375.5% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 28,509 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 22,514 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 154.2% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 13,152 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 7,979 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 690 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $159,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total value of $101,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $929,240.91. The trade was a 9.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of AEE traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $99.81. The company had a trading volume of 985,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,376,645. The company's 50 day moving average price is $98.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.19. The stock has a market cap of $26.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. Ameren Corporation has a 52 week low of $81.31 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. The company 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 company's revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.