Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target Raised to $115.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price objective hoisted by Argus from $108.00 to $115.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AEE. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ameren from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.45.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $107.78 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $107.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $29.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.56. Ameren has a 1-year low of $91.77 and a 1-year high of $113.93.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The company had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Ameren’s revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total value of $673,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 193,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,002,673.60. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Ameren by 22.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Ameren by 19.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Ameren by 42.2% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 22,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,289,000 after acquiring an additional 6,772 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 2nd quarter worth $404,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 817,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,542,000 after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

About Ameren

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.