Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 2.9% during Q1, now owning approximately 12.70% of the company worth about $3.45 billion.
• In Q2, Ameren reported earnings of $1.01 per share, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $2.22 billion, an increase of 31.2% year-over-year.
• Analysts currently rate Ameren stock as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $101.36, following varied upgrades and downgrades from several investment firms.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,314,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 979,928 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.70% of Ameren worth $3,445,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ameren by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 94,351 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,410,000 after buying an additional 4,080 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 207,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,489,000 after acquiring an additional 77,113 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 96.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,170,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $460,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,539,129 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Ameren by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 39,556 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.36.

Ameren Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $102.26 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $97.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.48. Ameren Corporation has a 1 year low of $78.91 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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