Empire Life Investments Inc. Lowers Position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. has reduced its stake in Ameren Corporation by 15.8%, now owning approximately 0.06% of the company.
• Shares of Ameren are currently trading around $102.15, with a 52-week range between $78.91 and $104.10, and a market cap of $27.61 billion.
• Analysts have given Ameren a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," with a majority of analysts projecting an average target price of $101.36.

Empire Life Investments Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,678 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 28,960 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. owned about 0.06% of Ameren worth $15,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 4,014 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 1,732.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,068,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,527,000 after acquiring an additional 2,901,047 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $7,323,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $760,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 290.0% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 10,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 8,087 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.36.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE AEE traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $101.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,492,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,558,898. The firm's 50 day moving average is $97.00 and its 200 day moving average is $97.45. Ameren Corporation has a twelve month low of $78.91 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio 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.