Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 232,285 Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors purchased 232,285 shares of Ameren worth approximately $26.3 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.09% of the utility company.
• Ameren beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.13 in adjusted EPS versus the $1.08 consensus, although revenue fell 5.8% year over year to $2.09 billion.
• Ameren declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, equivalent to $3.00 annually and a 2.8% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $121.75.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 232,285 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $26,257,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Ameren at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ameren by 1.4% in 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 during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,918,526,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,885,476 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,586,324,000 after purchasing an additional 362,052 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,503,721 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,448,342,000 after purchasing an additional 457,876 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 3.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,223,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $597,673,000 after purchasing an additional 179,137 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $108.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 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. The company's fifty day moving average price is $111.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.23. Ameren Corporation has a 1 year low of $96.57 and a 1 year high of $118.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Ameren had a net margin of 17.86% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Ameren from $124.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ameren from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BTIG Research set a $126.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $121.75.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.96, for a total transaction of $708,240.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 199,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,758,113.44. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.93, for a total value of $35,402.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,522,796.20. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Ameren Company 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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