Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Given New $105.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price target increased by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $100.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 6.84% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AEE. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays cut Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $98.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,274,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,519. The company’s 50-day moving average is $92.17 and its 200-day moving average is $88.63. Ameren has a 52 week low of $69.31 and a 52 week high of $100.61. The firm has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.52% and a return on equity of 10.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’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 directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 77.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Ameren by 7.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,346,000 after buying an additional 8,540 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth about $257,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

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.