L & S Advisors Inc Acquires New Shares in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc has acquired a new stake in Ameren Corporation, purchasing 26,961 shares valued at approximately $2.71 million.
• Ameren recently reported earnings of $1.01 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues up 31.2% year-over-year, totaling $2.22 billion.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.71 per share, representing a 2.8% annual yield, and reflecting a payout ratio of 62.97%.

L & S Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 26,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,707,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 4,014 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Ameren by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 7,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Ameren by 1,732.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,068,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $273,527,000 after buying an additional 2,901,047 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,323,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $760,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AEE shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.36.

Ameren Trading Up 0.4%

AEE stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Thursday, hitting $102.00. The company had a trading volume of 217,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,735,688. The stock has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.12 and a 200-day moving average of $97.48. 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 $78.91 and a one year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 14.55%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend 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.