First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Ameren by 3.1% in Q3, adding 28,276 shares to hold 930,807 shares worth about $97.16 million.
• Ameren raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (from $0.71), an annualized $3.00 for a yield of ~2.7%, with an ex-dividend date of March 10 and payment on March 31.
• The company slightly beat quarterly estimates with $0.78 EPS vs. $0.77 and $1.78B revenue vs. $1.69B expected, though revenue was down ~8.2% year-over-year and the consensus analyst rating is "Hold" (target $113.30).

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 930,807 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,276 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.34% of Ameren worth $97,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,050,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,097,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Ameren by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,787,278 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $186,556,000 after buying an additional 79,763 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in Ameren by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 255,152 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,505,000 after buying an additional 2,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at $13,305,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AEE stock opened at $111.17 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Ameren Corporation has a twelve month low of $91.77 and a twelve month high of $113.64. The company's 50-day moving average price is $105.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.27. The stock has a market cap of $30.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.56.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Ameren's revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Ameren's payout ratio is 53.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.30.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total transaction of $673,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 193,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,002,673.60. The trade was a 3.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Ameren Company Profile

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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