Amundi Sells 26,439 Shares of Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its stake in Ameren Corporation by 8.3%, selling 26,439 shares, and now holds approximately 293,713 shares valued at $29.87 million.
• Wall Street analysts have issued optimistic ratings for Ameren, with upgrades including Goldman Sachs raising its price target from $91 to $100 and UBS increasing it from $111 to $114.
• Ameren has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 9th.

Amundi lessened its holdings in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 293,713 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 26,439 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.11% of Ameren worth $29,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in Ameren by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ameren by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,192 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Ameren by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 798,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $71,148,000 after purchasing an additional 294,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in Ameren by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 178,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,882,000 after purchasing an additional 25,937 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AEE traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.60. The company had a trading volume of 131,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,688,686. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $27.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.47. Ameren Corporation has a 52-week low of $82.95 and a 52-week high of $104.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $99.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.31.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for 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%.Ameren's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. On average, research analysts predict 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 Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target 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 restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total value of $101,790.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $929,240.91. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.