Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $101.90.

A number of brokerages have commented on AEE. UBS Group increased their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 target price on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Ameren by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 82,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,315,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,367,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,370,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,564,119. The business's fifty day moving average is $97.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.39. The stock has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. Ameren has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. Ameren's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.97%.

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.