SG Americas Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 109.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 16,585 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $3,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 19.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 24.7% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 41,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,196,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 7.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,597 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Ameren by 9.2% in the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 51,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,184,000 after buying an additional 4,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the first quarter worth approximately $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $114.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.00.

Ameren Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:AEE traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.42. 1,409,146 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,573,411. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.66. Ameren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $25.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's payout ratio is 62.97%.

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.