Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameren from “sell” to “hold.” Overall analyst sentiment is more positive, with a MarketBeat consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $117.95.
• Ameren beat quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $2.42 per share versus the $2.29 consensus and revenue of $2.88 billion versus $2.82 billion. Revenue rose 6.8% year over year.
• Analyst views and price targets varied: Mizuho raised its target to $123 with an “outperform” rating, while Bank of America cut its target to $107 and maintained “neutral.”

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

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on Ameren from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ameren from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ameren from $133.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $113.00 to $107.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.95.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $114.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.77. Ameren has a 1-year low of $96.57 and a 1-year high of $118.32. The firm has a market cap of $31.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 17.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.72, for a total transaction of $719,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 193,790 shares in the company, valued at $21,456,428.80. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.53, for a total value of $26,171.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,465,600.64. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi boosted its position in Ameren by 106.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 919,349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $101,055,000 after buying an additional 473,048 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at about $1,637,000. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at about $3,982,000. Capital Analysts LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at about $2,232,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at about $3,288,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation is a regulated utility holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its subsidiaries, it provides electric and natural gas service to customers across Missouri and Illinois. Ameren Missouri generates, transmits and distributes electricity and delivers natural gas in parts of Missouri. Ameren Illinois operates electric transmission and distribution systems and provides natural gas delivery service in parts of Illinois. The company also develops and operates electric transmission infrastructure.

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