Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.40.

Several analysts recently commented on AEE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock opened at $74.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.47. Ameren has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $90.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.33%.

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.