Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $113.4545.

AEE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ameren from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Ameren from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE opened at $107.78 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $107.91 and a 200 day moving average of $104.02. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $91.77 and a fifty-two week high of $113.93. The firm has a market cap of $29.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.56.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 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 firm posted $0.77 EPS. Ameren’s revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Ameren’s payout ratio is 56.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6,040.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Ameren by 6,080.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

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.