Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $101.10 and last traded at $100.51, with a volume of 49838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AEE. Barclays lowered shares of 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued 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 a consensus target price of $92.70.

Ameren Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.51. The company has a market cap of $27.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in shares of Ameren by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

About Ameren

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.