Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Upgraded at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $100.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $91.00.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Ameren from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $114.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.64.

Ameren Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE AEE opened at $95.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $25.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren has a one year low of $70.15 and a one year high of $104.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $96.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.81.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 62.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Ameren by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.