BMO Capital Markets Boosts Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target to $81.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $76.00 to $81.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Ameren from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a sell rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $79.90.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $73.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,886,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,732,641. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Ameren has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $90.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company's revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 163.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.