Ameren Corp (NYSE:AEE) Stock Position Increased by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

25 May 2020, 12:52 by Mitch Edgeman

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ameren Corp (NYSE:AEE) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Pictet Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,193,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $322,054,000 after buying an additional 1,094,403 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,861,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,948,000 after acquiring an additional 705,864 shares during the last quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $54,117,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,405,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,158,000 after acquiring an additional 696,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1,675.7% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 596,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,820,000 after acquiring an additional 563,019 shares during the last quarter. 76.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ameren from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. TheStreet cut Ameren from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.64.

Shares of AEE stock opened at $69.82 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.27. Ameren Corp has a 1-year low of $58.74 and a 1-year high of $87.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.52.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 9.62%. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Corp will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.495 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 59.10%.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. It operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. The company engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution and transmission businesses.