Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: The stock has an average rating of "Hold" from 14 analysts (1 sell, 6 hold, 7 buy) with a 12‑month average price target of $115.92, while recent moves include UBS and BTIG boosting/initiating buy ratings and Wall Street Zen cutting to sell.
• Q4 results slightly beat expectations (EPS $0.78 vs. $0.77; revenue $1.78B vs. $1.69B) despite an 8.2% YoY revenue decline; shares trade around $112.73 with a 52‑week range of $93.27–$115.53 and a market cap of about $31.2B (P/E 21.07).
• Dividend increase: Ameren raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (annualized $3.00) for a yield of roughly 2.7% and a payout ratio of about 56.1%.

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $115.9167.

A number of research firms have weighed in on AEE. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ameren from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 193,076 shares in the company, valued at $20,002,673.60. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 68.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,080,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $425,951,000 after buying an additional 1,661,019 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 104,698.0% in the 3rd quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,370,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $143,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,450 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ameren by 6,051.1% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 932,017 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,071,000 after acquiring an additional 916,865 shares during the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp bought a new stake in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,614,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $66,631,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AEE stock opened at $112.73 on Monday. Ameren has a 52-week low of $93.27 and a 52-week high of $115.53. The stock has a market cap of $31.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $110.53 and a 200-day moving average of $105.34.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm's revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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