Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Given New $109.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its target price increased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $109.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 2.33% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ameren from $126.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Ameren from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Ameren from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Ameren from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Ameren from $124.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.77.

Ameren Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AEE traded up $0.29 on Wednesday, reaching $106.52. 424,834 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,726,640. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.50. Ameren has a 12 month low of $96.57 and a 12 month high of $118.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

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 firm 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 earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 5.40 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, Director Rafael Flores sold 248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.53, for a total value of $26,171.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,465,600.64. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Theresa Shaw sold 325 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,522,796.20. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,073 shares of company stock worth $769,814. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 80.0% during the third quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 7.2% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Ameren by 0.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 39,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Ameren by 5.1% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation is a regulated electric and natural gas utility holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its operating companies, Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois, the company provides electric generation, transmission and distribution services, as well as natural gas distribution.

Ameren serves approximately 2.5 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers across Missouri and Illinois. Its operations include a diverse generation portfolio and infrastructure designed to deliver reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while supporting the transition toward cleaner energy resources.

Ameren was formed in 1997 through the merger of Union Electric Company and CIPSCO Inc The company is led by Martin J.