Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ameren from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ameren from $126.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $126.00 price objective on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.74.

Ameren Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $108.72 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.13. Ameren has a 52-week low of $96.57 and a 52-week high of $118.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ameren will post 5.40 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 8th.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, Director Rafael Flores sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,465,600.64. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Theresa Shaw sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was 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 directly owned 32,340 shares in the company, valued at $3,522,796.20. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,073 shares of company stock valued at $769,814. Corporate insiders own 0.29% 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 AEE. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV boosted its stake in Ameren by 2.2% during the first quarter. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV now owns 4,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. grew its holdings in Ameren by 4.3% in 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 buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 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.