Morgan Stanley Cuts Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target to $114.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $118.00 to $114.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AEE. Mizuho lifted their price target on Ameren from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Ameren from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BTIG Research set a $126.00 target price on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.42.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $106.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $111.06 and a 200-day moving average of $110.25. Ameren has a 12 month low of $96.57 and a 12 month high of $118.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Ameren had a net margin of 17.86% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ameren will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.96, for a total value of $708,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 199,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,758,113.44. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.93, for a total transaction of $35,402.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,522,796.20. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV increased its holdings in Ameren by 2.2% in the first quarter. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV now owns 4,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. increased its position in Ameren by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 2,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 1.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.