Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $87.80.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AEE. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameren by 493.0% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 18,064 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 703.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 129,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,566,000 after buying an additional 113,250 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Ameren by 392.0% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 15,484 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Ameren by 137.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 100,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,407,000 after acquiring an additional 57,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,632,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $88.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $84.81 and its 200 day moving average is $77.63. Ameren has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $89.08. The company has a market capitalization of $23.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.45. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

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.