Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by USA Financial Formulas

USA Financial Formulas reduced its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,424 shares during the quarter. USA Financial Formulas’ holdings in Ameren were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CX Institutional purchased a new position in Ameren during the 1st quarter worth $199,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Ameren by 109.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,185,000 after purchasing an additional 16,585 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 19.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 24.7% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 41,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,196,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $95.62 on Wednesday. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.62. The firm has a market cap of $25.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 target price on shares of Ameren and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $114.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a report on Monday, June 2nd. KeyCorp raised shares of Ameren from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

About Ameren

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.