NFJ Investment Group LLC Cuts Stake in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• NJF Investment Group LLC has decreased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 20.1%, now owning 63,158 shares, valued at approximately $6.34 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Ameren, with significant increases from Cornerstone Planning Group LLC (up 586.9%) and ORG Partners LLC (up 74.5%).
• Ameren recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.01, exceeding analysts' estimates, and has set its FY 2025 guidance at $4.850-5.050 EPS.

NFJ Investment Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,849 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $6,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter worth about $897,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter worth about $13,552,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $100.03. 273,854 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,693,400. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $82.95 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The business's 50-day moving average is $99.63 and its 200-day moving average is $98.29.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 14.55%.Ameren's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 62.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total value of $101,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares in the company, valued at $929,240.91. This represents a 9.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price target on Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.80.

Ameren 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.