Stack Financial Management Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Stack Financial Management Inc trimmed its position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,558 shares during the quarter. Stack Financial Management Inc owned 0.06% of Ameren worth $15,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Ameren by 74.5% during 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 during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in Ameren by 586.9% during 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 during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in Ameren by 78.7% during 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 during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Up 0.5%

Ameren stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,327,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,585,009. The company has a market capitalization of $26.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.37. Ameren Corporation has a one year low of $74.11 and a one year high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AEE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $104.00 target price on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.36.

Ameren 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.