Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $112.66 and last traded at $110.49, with a volume of 1435945 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $110.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AEE. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. KeyCorp downgraded Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ameren from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.30.

Ameren Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 16.55%.The business had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.08%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total transaction of $673,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 193,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,002,673.60. This represents a 3.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Ameren by 70.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 285.5% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Ameren by 6,040.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.