IFM Investors Pty Ltd Purchases 30,860 Shares of Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its Ameren stake by 51.8% in the first quarter, buying 30,860 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 90,487 shares worth about $9.95 million.
• Institutional interest in Ameren remains strong, with several hedge funds and asset managers making large purchases; overall, 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Ameren reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS estimates with $1.28 per share, and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, implying a 2.6% annual yield.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 51.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 30,860 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Ameren were worth $9,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6,051.1% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 932,017 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,071,000 after purchasing an additional 916,865 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,631,000. Aventail Capital Group LP bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,546,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 112.0% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 70,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,990,000 after buying an additional 655,199 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Ameren by 9,966.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 518,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,800,000 after buying an additional 513,572 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Ameren from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $115.00 price objective on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ameren from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.42.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $114.97 on Friday. Ameren Corporation has a 52 week low of $94.20 and a 52 week high of $118.32. The business's 50 day moving average price is $110.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $31.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.47.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.96%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.08, for a total transaction of $35,451.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,557,971.44. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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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