Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 95.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,119 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $1,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $95.40 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $96.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.78. The firm has a market cap of $25.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Corporation has a 52-week low of $70.15 and a 52-week high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 62.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEE shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. KeyCorp raised shares of Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.64.

Ameren Profile

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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