Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Invests $1.24 Million in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR initiated a new position in Ameren, buying 12,364 shares valued at about $1.24 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional interest in Ameren remains strong, with hedge funds and other large investors holding 79.09% of the stock.
• Ameren posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS estimates with $1.28 per share, and it also announced a $0.75 quarterly dividend payable on June 30.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,364 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,080,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $425,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661,019 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd increased its holdings in Ameren by 104,698.0% in the 3rd quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,370,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $143,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,450 shares during the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp bought a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $76,614,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 112.0% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 70,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,990,000 after purchasing an additional 655,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 9,966.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 518,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,800,000 after purchasing an additional 513,572 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Ameren from $126.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.54.

Ameren Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of AEE opened at $106.76 on Wednesday. Ameren Corporation has a twelve month low of $93.50 and a twelve month high of $115.58. The stock has a market cap of $29.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business's 50-day moving average price is $110.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.58.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Ameren's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Ameren's payout ratio is 53.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.35, for a total value of $164,025.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,602,317.05. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

About Ameren

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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