Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Ameren Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from thirteen research firms, with five analysts holding a neutral stance and seven recommending a buy.
• The stock price target set by brokerages averages at $101.36, indicating potential upside based on recent performance and analyst reports.
• Ameren reported a 31.2% increase in revenue year-over-year, achieving $2.22 billion for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion.

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $101.3636.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 target price on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $100.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,905,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,728,170. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $97.72 and a 200-day moving average of $97.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren has a 12-month low of $81.31 and a 12-month high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 70.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 258 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6,040.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 728.9% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

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.