US Bancorp DE Trims Holdings in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE has reduced its holdings in Ameren Corporation by 3.1%, owning 101,304 shares valued at $10.17 million as of the latest filing.
• Ameren reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.01, exceeding analysts' expectations and resulting in a 31.2% revenue increase year over year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71, with an annualized payout of $2.84 and a yield of 2.8%.

US Bancorp DE cut its stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,257 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Ameren were worth $10,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 5.0% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,405 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.7% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 60,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,051,000 after purchasing an additional 4,303 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 16.5% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 28,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 4,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.9% in the first quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.36.

Ameren Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded down $1.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $101.30. 452,117 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,734,281. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $78.91 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $97.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.48.

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

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.