Ameren Corporation $AEE Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Ameren Corporation by 4.7%, owning 217,158 shares worth approximately $21.8 million as of the latest SEC disclosure.
• Many institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Invesco Ltd., have also increased their stakes in Ameren, resulting in 79.09% of the stock being owned by these entities.
• Ameren announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, with a yield of 2.8%, to be paid on September 30th to shareholders of record on September 9th.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 217,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,746 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.08% of Ameren worth $21,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter worth $204,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter worth $897,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,699,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter worth $13,552,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 35.0% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price target on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.36.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE traded down $0.1360 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $101.8540. 405,602 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,718,761. Ameren Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.31 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The company has a market cap of $27.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $98.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

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

Ameren Company 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.