Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. Has $498,000 Position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Key Points

• Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 423.7% in the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 4,959, valued at approximately $498,000.
• Ameren reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.01, with revenue reaching $2.22 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 62.97%.

Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 423.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,012 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc.'s holdings in Ameren were worth $498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the first quarter worth approximately $204,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the first quarter worth approximately $897,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Ameren by 6.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,699,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Ameren in the first quarter worth approximately $13,552,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Ameren by 1,732.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,068,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,527,000 after buying an additional 2,901,047 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AEE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.36.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $103.32. 1,126,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,579,144. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $96.75 and its 200 day moving average is $97.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Corporation has a one year low of $78.91 and a one year high of $104.10.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The business's revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Ameren Company 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.