Bank of Nova Scotia Has $2.82 Million Position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Ameren Corporation by 29.0%, holding 28,077 shares valued at approximately $2.82 million.
• Ameren reported quarterly earnings of $1.01 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue increasing by 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 62.42%.

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its holdings in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 29.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,077 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,479 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Ameren were worth $2,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 586.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AEE. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.36.

Ameren Stock Down 0.9%

AEE stock traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $101.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,006,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,502,207. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.60. Ameren Corporation has a 12 month low of $78.91 and a 12 month high of $104.10. The company has a market capitalization of $27.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

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

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.