Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $113.93 and last traded at $113.1640, with a volume of 180292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AEE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.30.

Ameren Stock Down 1.3%

The stock has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $107.22 and its 200-day moving average is $103.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 56.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,050,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth $1,097,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 4.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,787,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $186,556,000 after buying an additional 79,763 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Ameren by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 255,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,505,000 after buying an additional 2,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the second quarter worth about $13,305,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.