Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 3,688 Shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in Ameren Corporation by 14.6% in Q1 2023, now holding shares valued at $2.17 million.
• Ameren reported a quarterly EPS of $1.01, which exceeded analysts' expectations, alongside revenue of $2.22 billion, marking a 31.2% increase from the previous year.
• The average target price for Ameren stock is currently $101.36, with ratings including five holds, seven buys, and one strong buy from research analysts.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,611 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,688 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $2,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 586.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded down $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $100.60. 1,905,603 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,438,296. Ameren Corporation has a 1-year low of $81.31 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $27.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.36.

About Ameren

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.