VCI Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,829 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,288,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Ameren by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 78,751 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,907,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 4.2% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 15,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 3.1% during the 1st 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. Horizon Investment Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 41.4% in the first quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 26,239 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,634,000 after acquiring an additional 7,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $13,552,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Ameren from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Five 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 data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.36.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.89. 143,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,584,141. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.59. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $74.87 and a 12 month high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. 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.

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