Bessemer Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its Ameren stake by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, but still held about 2.74 million shares valued at roughly $273.6 million.
• Ameren reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.28 per share, topping estimates by $0.11, while revenue rose 3.8% year over year to $2.18 billion.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the utility, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $118, while the stock traded around $109.49 and insiders recently saw a planned share sale by an executive.

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,740,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 35,511 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 1.01% of Ameren worth $273,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,645,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,559,565,000 after acquiring an additional 495,945 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Ameren by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,045,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,466,105,000 after acquiring an additional 328,401 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,283,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $655,892,000 after acquiring an additional 60,519 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ameren by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,140,239 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $536,538,000 after acquiring an additional 49,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ameren by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,080,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $425,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661,019 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE AEE opened at $109.49 on Friday. Ameren Corporation has a one year low of $93.50 and a one year high of $115.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.50.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.11. Ameren had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Monday, April 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $126.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.00.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.35, for a total transaction of $164,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,602,317.05. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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