Legal & General Group Plc Sells 139,714 Shares of Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Ameren stake by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 139,714 shares and ending with 1,980,793 shares worth about $197.8 million.
• Ameren reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.28 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 3.8% year over year to $2.18 billion. The company also reaffirmed FY2026 EPS guidance of 5.25 to 5.45.
• The utility declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, payable June 30, implying an annualized yield of about 2.7%. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of $117.54.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,980,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 139,714 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.73% of Ameren worth $197,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 285.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 266 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6,040.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6,080.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,557,971.44. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AEE opened at $111.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.50. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $110.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.53. Ameren Corporation has a twelve month low of $93.50 and a twelve month high of $115.58.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $126.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $110.00 target price on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.54.

Ameren Company Profile

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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