Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AEE. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.31.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $110.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Ameren has a 52-week low of $93.27 and a 52-week high of $115.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $110.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.44. The firm has a market cap of $30.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.52.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 16.55%.The firm had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ameren will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Ameren’s payout ratio is 56.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren 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 approximately $20,002,673.60. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Ameren by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,787,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $186,556,000 after acquiring an additional 79,763 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,097,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Ameren by 119.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 77,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,070,000 after acquiring an additional 42,004 shares during the period. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,102,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Company Profile

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.