Raymond James Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Ameren Corporation by 9.5%, bringing its total to 237,820 shares valued at approximately $23.88 million.
• Ameren reported quarterly earnings of $1.01 per share, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $2.22 billion, which was 31.2% higher than the previous year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, reflecting a 2.8% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 62.42%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,820 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,561 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Ameren worth $23,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in Ameren by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Ameren by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 3.1% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 5.3% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $100.8870 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Corporation has a twelve month low of $81.31 and a twelve 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $98.49 and a 200 day moving average of $98.12.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 14.55%.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 prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Ameren's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $104.00 target price on Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.36.

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.

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