Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC Invests $276,000 in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Ameren by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Ameren by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its holdings in Ameren by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 3,777 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Ameren by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 53,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,727,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 35,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.1%

Ameren stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $95.33. 2,259,868 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,581,202. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $96.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $25.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren Corporation has a one year low of $70.15 and a one year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $114.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.64.

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.