abrdn plc Boosts Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

abrdn plc grew its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 18.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,277 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Ameren were worth $9,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Ameren by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 345,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,548,000 after purchasing an additional 80,599 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ameren by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $85.88 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $85.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $89.54.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AEE. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

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.