Brokerages Set Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) PT at $79.40

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.40.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company.

Ameren Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $74.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. Ameren has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $90.72. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.47. The firm has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Ameren by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,436,000 after purchasing an additional 14,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ameren by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 167,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,532,000 after purchasing an additional 5,801 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business.