Friedenthal Financial Invests $903,000 in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,996 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $903,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Ameren by 3.3% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 37,405 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,755,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Ameren by 14.8% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,495 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its position in Ameren by 1.7% during the first quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 17,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,734,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ameren by 8.6% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,299,000 after buying an additional 4,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Ameren by 95.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 8,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $114.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.80.

Ameren Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $94.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.65.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

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.

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