Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Receives $113.45 Average PT from Analysts

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $113.4545.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Ameren in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total transaction of $673,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 193,076 shares in the company, valued at $20,002,673.60. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Ameren by 285.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6,040.0% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6,080.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $108.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $30.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $108.11 and a 200-day moving average of $104.14. Ameren has a one year low of $91.77 and a one year high of $113.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The company had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.07%.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.