Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $113.93 and last traded at $113.1640, with a volume of 180292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AEE. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. KeyCorp cut shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.30.

Ameren Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $31.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $106.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.62.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total value of $673,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 193,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,002,673.60. The trade was a 3.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEE. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.4% in the second quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 7,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co boosted its stake in Ameren by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 14,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keb Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC now owns 12,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.