Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Stake Boosted by Citigroup Inc.

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. has increased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 7.9%, owning approximately 343,910 shares valued at $34.5 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own **79.09%** of Ameren's stock, with several firms like Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management and Charles Schwab Investment Management increasing their holdings in the 1st quarter.
• Analysts are optimistic about Ameren's performance, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of **$101.36**, following favorable quarterly earnings that surpassed estimates.

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 343,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,313 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.13% of Ameren worth $34,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,038,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,518,835,000 after buying an additional 2,439,811 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,314,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,445,138,000 after buying an additional 979,928 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 926,126 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 buying an additional 795,120 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 361.9% in the fourth quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 802,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $71,552,000 after buying an additional 628,925 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AEE shares. 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.36.

Ameren Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AEE stock traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $101.45. 1,463,027 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,727,418. Ameren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $80.57 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. 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 company has a market capitalization of $27.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $97.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.73.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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.