BNP Paribas Financial Markets Decreases Stake in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in Ameren Corporation by 22.1%, selling 109,709 shares and holding 387,798 shares worth approximately $38.9 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Ameren recently reported a 31.2% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, achieving $2.22 billion and earnings per share of $1.01, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 to be paid on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 2.8%.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 22.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 387,798 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 109,709 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.14% of Ameren worth $38,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Beck Bode LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 2,004.9% in the 1st quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 179,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,065,000 after purchasing an additional 171,383 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at about $50,693,000. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 12.2% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 72,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,256,000 after purchasing an additional 7,866 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 57.8% in the first quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 375.5% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 28,509 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,862,000 after purchasing an additional 22,514 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $100.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 623,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,695,654. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Ameren Corporation has a twelve month low of $82.79 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $99.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.47.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 14.55%.The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Ameren's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AEE. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,240.91. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.