Bank of America Boosts Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target to $78.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $77.00 to $78.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Bank of America's price target points to a potential upside of 8.24% from the stock's current price.

AEE has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Ameren from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Ameren from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.50.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $72.06. 1,008,672 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,825,264. The company has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Ameren has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $91.18. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $71.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.65.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEE. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 218.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.