Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Rating Lowered to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays lowered shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Barclays currently has $95.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $88.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.00.

Ameren Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $92.87 on Monday. Ameren has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $96.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.68. The stock has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth $1,417,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,682,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ameren by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,134,000 after purchasing an additional 362,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 265.0% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 173,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,198,000 after buying an additional 126,157 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Company Profile

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.