Oak Thistle LLC Invests $5.32 Million in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Oak Thistle LLC purchased 53,221 shares of Ameren (NYSE: AEE) in Q4 valued at approximately $5.315 million, making the stock its 4th largest holding (about 0.7% of the firm’s assets).
• Insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares on Feb. 2 at an average price of $103.60 for roughly $673,400, a 3.26% reduction in his position.
• Ameren raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 ($3.00 annual, ~2.7% yield) and reported a slight EPS beat ($0.78 vs. $0.77) while revenue declined 8.2% year‑over‑year; analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target of $113.45.

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 53,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,315,000. Ameren comprises about 0.7% of Oak Thistle LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 14,759 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,474,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC now owns 12,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total value of $673,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 193,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,002,673.60. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AEE opened at $111.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.74. Ameren Corporation has a twelve month low of $91.77 and a twelve month high of $113.93.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 56.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, January 23rd. KeyCorp lowered shares of Ameren from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $113.45.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation NYSE: AEE is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren's core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.

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