Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Receives $85.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.33.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upgraded Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $86.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.72. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $87.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. Ameren’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Brightwater Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the second quarter worth $213,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the second quarter valued at about $2,228,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at about $58,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 595.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 9.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 76,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,461,000 after purchasing an additional 6,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.