Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Given a $102.00 Price Target by Morgan Stanley Analysts

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) received a $102.00 price objective from research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.84% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on AEE. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given 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 $101.90.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $96.38. The company had a trading volume of 244,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,789,989. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $97.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.33. Ameren has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position 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 valued at $273,527,000 after acquiring an additional 2,901,047 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 16.7% during 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 purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 1st quarter worth about $241,496,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Ameren by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,404,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,851,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355,848 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

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.