Nuveen LLC Takes $241.50 Million Position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new position in Ameren Corporation, purchasing 2,405,340 shares valued at approximately $241 million, which represents about 0.89% of the company.
• Ameren Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue rising 31.2% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors currently own 79.09% of Ameren's stock, highlighting significant investment interest in the company.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,405,340 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $241,496,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.89% of Ameren at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 74.5% in 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 increased its stake in Ameren by 586.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in Ameren by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. Barclays dropped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $104.00 price target on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.36.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $100.63. 564,110 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,719,753. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $97.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.78. The company has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $81.31 and a 12-month high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 14.55%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.