Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Ameren's stock reached a new 12-month high, trading at $104.59, with a total volume of 150,706 shares exchanged.
• Analyst ratings have been mixed, with some firms increasing their price targets while others lowered them, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" at a target price of $105.75.
• The company reported a 31.2% year-over-year revenue increase, with earnings per share of $1.01 for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates and setting a full-year guidance target of 4.850-5.050 EPS.

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $104.59 and last traded at $104.58, with a volume of 150706 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ameren from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.75.

Ameren Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's fifty day moving average is $100.92 and its 200-day moving average is $98.47.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The company's revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.42%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total value of $101,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,240.91. The trade was a 9.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,582,578 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,417,351,000 after buying an additional 1,268,457 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Ameren by 5.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,404,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,851,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,355,848 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Ameren by 2.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,717,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,317,423,000 after acquiring an additional 297,386 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,242,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $692,794,000 after purchasing an additional 192,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,223,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $597,673,000 after purchasing an additional 179,137 shares during the period. 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.

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