10,150 Shares in Ameren Corporation $AEE Bought by Thompson Davis & CO. Inc.

Key Points

• Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren Corporation, purchasing 10,150 shares valued at approximately $1,019,000, making Ameren the firm's 20th largest position.
• Ameren Corporation's stock has received multiple upgrades from analysts, with target prices raised by firms like Wells Fargo and UBS, indicating a general positive outlook for the stock.
• The company reported $1.01 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a significant 31.2% year-over-year revenue growth.

Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000. Ameren accounts for approximately 0.8% of Thompson Davis & CO. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AEE. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Ameren by 29.6% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Ameren by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 3.1% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position 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 worth $1,423,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 5.3% during 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 last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:AEE traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $100.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,518,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,464,402. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $97.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.93. Ameren Corporation has a 1-year low of $81.31 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The company has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 14.55%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 target price on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.