HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 11.6%, acquiring an additional 3,778 shares during the first quarter, resulting in total holdings valued at approximately $3,661,000.
• Ameren has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, with a record date of September 9th, representing an annualized dividend of $2.84 and a yield of 2.8%.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Ameren, with a target price of $101.36, as multiple firms have recently adjusted their price objectives upward.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,778 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $3,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Ameren by 29.6% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in 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 period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 3.1% in the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 2.7% in the first quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded up $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,296,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,512,219. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Ameren Corporation has a one year low of $81.31 and a one year high of $104.10. The company has a market capitalization of $27.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued 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 payout ratio is 62.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AEE. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.36.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total transaction of $101,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $929,240.91. The trade was a 9.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.