Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ameren Corporation by 7.7% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 4,303 shares, which brought the total to 60,266 shares valued at approximately $6.05 million.
• Ameren reported earnings of $1.01 per share in its most recent quarter, beating estimates and showing a revenue increase of 31.2% year-over-year, totaling $2.22 billion.
• A recent dividend of $0.71 per share was declared, representing an annualized dividend of $2.84 and a yield of 2.8%, with a payout ratio currently at 62.42%.

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,303 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $6,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,170,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $460,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,539,129 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ameren by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,038,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,518,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,811 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,134,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $190,250,000 after acquiring an additional 926,126 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 11,913.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,500,000 after buying an additional 795,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 361.9% during the fourth quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 802,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $71,552,000 after purchasing an additional 628,925 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 target price on Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.36.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $102.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,310,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,985. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.48. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $78.91 and a 12-month high of $104.10. 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 company has a market capitalization of $27.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given 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 currently 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.