Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC has invested approximately $50.69 million in Ameren Corporation, acquiring 504,907 shares, which now represent about 1.1% of its portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates, have raised their stakes in Ameren, indicating strong investor interest in the utilities sector.
• Ameren recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.8%, reflecting its financial health amidst a market cap of $27.28 billion.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 504,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $50,693,000. Ameren comprises about 1.1% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Ameren at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at about $241,496,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,404,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,851,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,355,848 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,314,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,445,138,000 after acquiring an additional 979,928 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,134,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $190,250,000 after acquiring an additional 926,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 11,913.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,500,000 after acquiring an additional 795,120 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $99.81. The company had a trading volume of 985,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,707,271. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.96 and a 200-day moving average of $98.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Corporation has a one year low of $81.31 and a one year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. Ameren's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price target on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total transaction of $101,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares in the company, valued at $929,240.91. The trade was a 9.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.