Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.80.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Ameren by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Ameren by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $96.09 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.76. Ameren has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $25.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Ameren's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 62.97%.

About Ameren

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.

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