Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $5.69 Million Position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 11.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,594 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Ameren were worth $5,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 74.5% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $114.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.64.

Ameren Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,259,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,123. The company's 50 day moving average price is $96.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.86. Ameren Corporation has a twelve month low of $70.15 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The firm has a market cap of $25.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. Ameren's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid 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 yield of 2.98%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

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.