Gabelli Funds LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 2.2%, selling 10,900 shares, leaving it with 494,850 shares valued at approximately $49.68 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Ceredex Value Advisors and Comerica Bank, have recently made significant changes to their investments in Ameren, indicating heightened interest in the stock.
• Ameren announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 62.42%.

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 494,850 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,900 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Ameren worth $49,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the first quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 586.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, August 21st. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total transaction of $101,790.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,240.91. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.81. 985,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,707,271. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.19. Ameren Corporation has a one year low of $81.31 and a one year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Ameren's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.42%.

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.