Westpac Banking Corp Takes Position in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp bought 9,746 Ameren shares worth approximately $1.1 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 79.09% of Ameren’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 10 Buy ratings and three Holds. Ameren has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $121.42.
• Ameren exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.13 versus the $1.08 consensus, while revenue declined 5.8% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75, equivalent to a 2.8% yield.

Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,102,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 285.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 266 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6,040.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 74.9% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 292 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research set a $126.00 target price on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Ameren from $121.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $122.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Ameren from $124.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.42.

Ameren Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $106.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.20. Ameren Corporation has a 52-week low of $96.57 and a 52-week high of $118.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 17.86%.Ameren's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 52.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.93, for a total transaction of $35,402.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,522,796.20. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.96, for a total transaction of $708,240.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 199,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,758,113.44. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation NYSE: AEE is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren's core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.

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