Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 123,084 Shares of Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 123,084 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 2,473,120 shares worth about $246.97 million.
• Ameren reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting $1.28 EPS versus the $1.17 consensus estimate, while revenue came in at $2.18 billion and rose 3.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, implying a 2.8% annual yield, and analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $117.54 price target.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,473,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 123,084 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.91% of Ameren worth $246,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd raised its position in shares of Ameren by 104,698.0% in the third quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,370,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $143,091,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369,450 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 5.3% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 543,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,754,000 after purchasing an additional 27,461 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter valued at about $4,868,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Ameren by 3.6% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,378,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $352,601,000 after acquiring an additional 116,819 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in Ameren by 23.7% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 155,836 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,266,000 after acquiring an additional 29,807 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $107.99 on Wednesday. Ameren Corporation has a 52 week low of $93.50 and a 52 week high of $115.58. The firm has a market cap of $29.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $110.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.11. Ameren had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.35, for a total value of $164,025.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,602,317.05. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AEE. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $110.00 price target on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ameren from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ameren from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.54.

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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