LPL Financial LLC Has $16.47 Million Stock Position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 25.1%, holding a total of 164,067 shares worth approximately $16.47 million.
• Ameren reported a net income margin of 14.55% and revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, with a yearly yield of 2.8% as of its last payment on June 30th.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 25.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,067 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 32,867 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Ameren worth $16,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Quarry LP bought a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 586.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in Ameren by 78.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 29.6% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $102.26. 1,310,345 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,743,089. The firm has a market cap of $27.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $78.91 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.48.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.36.

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.