Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Stock Rating Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameren from “sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with 10 Buy ratings and four Holds and an average price target of $117.77.
• Ameren shares opened at $106.09 and were reported up 2.2%; the utility exceeded quarterly EPS expectations at $1.13 versus the $1.08 consensus, though revenue fell short and declined 5.8% year over year.
• Institutional investors own approximately 79.09% of Ameren, while insiders sold 7,073 shares worth about $769,814 over the past 90 days.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

AEE has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Ameren from $121.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ameren from $114.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $124.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.77.

Ameren Trading Up 2.2%

AEE opened at $106.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Ameren has a twelve month low of $96.57 and a twelve month high of $118.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.58.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.27 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 17.86% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Analysts predict that Ameren will post 5.40 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.96, for a total transaction of $708,240.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 199,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,758,113.44. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 248 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.53, for a total value of $26,171.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,465,600.64. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,073 shares of company stock worth $769,814. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 106.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 919,349 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $101,055,000 after acquiring an additional 473,048 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,637,000. Capital Analysts LLC bought a new stake in Ameren during the second quarter worth about $2,232,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Ameren in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,288,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Ameren by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,268,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $249,307,000 after purchasing an additional 270,937 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation is a regulated utility holding company that provides electric and natural gas services to customers in Illinois and Missouri. Through its operating companies, Ameren delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers and operates the infrastructure required to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, as well as distribute natural gas.

Ameren Missouri is involved in electric generation, transmission and distribution and natural gas distribution across Missouri.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.