82,229 Shares in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Acquired by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has invested approximately $8.26 million in Ameren Corporation by purchasing 82,229 shares in the first quarter.
• Ameren reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.00, with a 31.2% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.8%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 82,229 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,256,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $211,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 5.0% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,405 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 7.7% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 60,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,051,000 after buying an additional 4,303 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 16.5% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 28,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,853,000 after buying an additional 4,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $101.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,492,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,746,013. The stock's 50 day moving average is $97.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.45. 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 52 week low of $78.91 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The firm has a market cap of $27.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's payout ratio is 62.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.36.

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.