Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Takes $66.63 Million Position in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 667,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $66,631,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Ameren by 6,080.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Ameren by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AEE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Ameren from $126.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $164,025.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,602,317.05. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock opened at $110.34 on Wednesday. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $93.50 and a 12-month high of $115.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.11. Ameren had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.