Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Invests $302,000 in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position 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. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position 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. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $95.84. 1,468,413 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,570,961. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.14. Ameren Corporation has a 1-year low of $70.19 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The firm has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Ameren's revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $114.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.64.

About Ameren

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.