Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target Cut to $100.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Barclays from $104.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.99% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $114.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.27.

Ameren Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:AEE traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $96.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,155,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,753. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.33. The company has a market capitalization of $25.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren has a twelve month low of $72.33 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The firm's revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $4,180,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,367,000. Amundi raised its stake in Ameren by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 320,152 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,570,000 after purchasing an additional 107,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Ameren by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 41,836 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.