Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes $2.46 Million Position in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired 24,481 shares of Ameren Corporation, valued at approximately $2,458,000, during the first quarter.
• Ameren's recent earnings report showed earnings per share at $1.01, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 31.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.8%, to be paid on September 30th.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 24,481 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,458,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in Ameren by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in Ameren by 1.4% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 44,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,428,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Ameren by 2.8% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 278,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,951,000 after acquiring an additional 7,634 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 7.9% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 343,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,529,000 after acquiring an additional 25,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ameren by 13.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 482,440 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,437,000 after acquiring an additional 55,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE AEE traded up $1.54 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $101.49. The company had a trading volume of 238,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,717,412. 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 one year low of $81.31 and a one year high of $104.10. The company has a market cap of $27.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.45. The company's fifty day moving average is $97.90 and its 200-day moving average is $97.93.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.36.

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.