Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target Raised to $114.00 at UBS Group

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at UBS Group from $113.00 to $114.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the utilities provider's stock. UBS Group's price target points to a potential upside of 18.13% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 price objective on Ameren and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.00.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $96.50. 2,089,188 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,788,027. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $97.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.52. The firm has a market cap of $26.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Ameren by 1,732.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,068,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,527,000 after acquiring an additional 2,901,047 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Ameren by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,170,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $460,917,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539,129 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,038,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,518,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,811 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $241,496,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position 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 valued at $2,851,821,000 after buying an additional 1,355,848 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by 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.