Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $97.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AEE. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upgraded Ameren from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a buy rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Ameren Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of AEE opened at $85.62 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $85.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. Ameren’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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.