Ameren (NYSE:AEE) PT Set at $104.00 by KeyCorp

KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

AEE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group set a $114.00 target price on shares of Ameren and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Five 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.36.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE traded up $1.10 on Wednesday, hitting $96.85. 1,995,435 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,586,041. Ameren has a 12 month low of $74.11 and a 12 month high of $104.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.48.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $419,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Ameren by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Ameren by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,246 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.