Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target Raised to $104.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Barclays from $101.00 to $104.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Barclays's target price suggests a potential upside of 4.37% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on AEE. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.89.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock opened at $99.65 on Tuesday. Ameren has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The stock has a market cap of $26.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. Ameren's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Ameren by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 78,751 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,907,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 4.2% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 15,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,588,000 after buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 3.1% in the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 41.4% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 26,239 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,634,000 after buying an additional 7,682 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Ameren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,552,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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