Mackenzie Financial Corp Grows Stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 15.2%, owning 28,875 shares worth approximately $2.90 million as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• Ameren's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with adjusted earnings per share of $1.01, and revenue of $2.22 billion, marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 31.2%.
• The company's dividend payment of $0.71 represents an annual yield of 2.8%, with a dividend payout ratio currently at 62.97%.

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 15.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,820 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Ameren were worth $2,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 586.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in Ameren by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Ameren by 29.6% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AEE shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price target on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.36.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $103.32. 1,126,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,748,589. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.35. Ameren Corporation has a 12 month low of $78.91 and a 12 month 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The company's revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. 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.