Ameren Corporation $AEE Shares Purchased by Credit Agricole S A

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 13.2%, acquiring an additional 8,739 shares, bringing its total holdings to 74,834 shares valued at approximately $7.5 million.
• Several hedge funds have also significantly adjusted their positions in Ameren, with Nuveen LLC buying $241 million worth of new shares and GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by a remarkable 11,913.7%.
• Ameren declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 payable on September 30th, which equates to an annual yield of 2.8% based on a payout ratio of 62.42%.

Credit Agricole S A raised its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,739 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Ameren were worth $7,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at $25,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 74.5% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 586.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.97. 325,264 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,710,426. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $98.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.12. Ameren Corporation has a 1-year low of $81.31 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $27.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The company'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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 target price on shares of Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.36.

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.