Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 37.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,437 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 26,876 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Ameren were worth $4,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Ameren by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 82,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,315,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $94.26. 1,749,346 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,574,475. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $97.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.65. The company has a market capitalization of $25.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. Ameren's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

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 $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.80.

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.