Bank of America Corp DE Boosts Stock Holdings in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Ameren stake by 6.4% in the first quarter, adding 136,631 shares for a total holding of 2.27 million shares valued at approximately $249 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.09% of Ameren.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Ameren receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 13 analysts and an average price target of $122.08. KeyCorp upgraded the stock to “overweight,” while Truist raised its target to $124.
• Ameren reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, exceeding estimates of $1.08, although revenue fell 5.8% year over year to $2.09 billion. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.75, equivalent to a 2.7% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,265,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 136,631 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.82% of Ameren worth $248,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV boosted its holdings in Ameren by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV now owns 4,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 2,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 602 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 14,759 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AEE. KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $122.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameren from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ameren from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Ameren from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.08.

Ameren Trading Up 0.0%

AEE opened at $109.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $30.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.53. Ameren Corporation has a one year low of $96.57 and a one year high of $118.32. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $110.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.73.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.27 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 17.86% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 52.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.08, for a total transaction of $35,451.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,971.44. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Ameren Profile

Ameren Corporation NYSE: AEE is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren's core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.

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