Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 6,908 Shares of Ameren Corporation $AEE

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) by 43.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,908 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ameren by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,645,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,559,565,000 after purchasing an additional 495,945 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,885,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,586,324,000 after purchasing an additional 362,052 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,503,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,448,342,000 after purchasing an additional 457,876 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,283,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $655,892,000 after purchasing an additional 60,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,290,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,278,000 after purchasing an additional 149,952 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Ameren from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $115.00 target price on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Ameren from $126.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.42.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.35, for a total transaction of $164,025.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,602,317.05. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of AEE opened at $113.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.47. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $94.20 and a 12-month high of $118.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $109.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.59.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.96%.

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.