AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 85,204 Shares of Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 93.0%, acquiring an additional 85,204 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 176,802 shares valued at $17.75 million.
• Ameren recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue increase of 31.2% from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, contributing to an annualized yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 62.42%.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 93.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 176,802 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 85,204 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Ameren worth $17,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 29.6% during the 1st 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 lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 3.1% in 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 last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 0.8% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 5.3% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total value of $101,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $929,240.91. This represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.79. 917,327 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,878. Ameren Corporation has a 1-year low of $82.95 and a 1-year 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 $27.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $99.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 62.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. 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. Finally, KeyCorp set a $104.00 price target on Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.80.

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.