Financial Harvest LLC Takes $1.56 Million Position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Financial Harvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 15,484 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,555,000. Ameren comprises 1.0% of Financial Harvest LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 29.6% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Ameren by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,423,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of AEE stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $99.49. 530,900 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,587,069. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $26.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.59. Ameren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $74.87 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. Ameren's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. KeyCorp set a $104.00 target price on Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Ameren and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.