Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target Raised to $81.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $76.00 to $81.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price suggests a potential upside of 9.65% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.90.

Ameren Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:AEE traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $73.87. The company had a trading volume of 150,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,712,245. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $90.72. The firm has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.11). Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren 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 $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value 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 $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,289,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,335,838,000 after purchasing an additional 180,794 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 5,112,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,849,000 after purchasing an additional 156,733 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,824,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,379,000 after acquiring an additional 101,023 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,430,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $181,867,000 after acquiring an additional 29,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,286,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $171,081,000 after acquiring an additional 532,800 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.