Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by RWC Asset Management LLP

Key Points

• RWC Asset Management LLP reduced its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) by 38.0%, selling 39,847 shares and now holding 64,899 shares valued at approximately $6.5 million.
• A number of institutional investors have increased their investments in Ameren, with FMR LLC growing its stake by 96.5% in the fourth quarter, now owning shares worth about $460.9 million.
• Ameren reported a $1.07 EPS for its last quarterly earnings, slightly missing expectations, but achieved a 15.5% year-over-year revenue growth, reaching $2.10 billion.

RWC Asset Management LLP decreased its holdings in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 38.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 39,847 shares during the quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP's holdings in Ameren were worth $6,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 29.6% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 3.1% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,423,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,094 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AEE. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.36.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of Ameren stock traded up $0.16 on Wednesday, hitting $99.98. 2,111,718 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,748,118. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Corporation has a 52 week low of $78.81 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.09. 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 (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Ameren's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

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

About Ameren

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.