Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Lifted to Outperform at Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $89.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $82.00.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on AEE. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a buy rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $82.70.

Ameren Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $84.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.28. Ameren has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $85.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brightwater Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at about $213,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,228,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Ameren by 595.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 76,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,461,000 after buying an additional 6,757 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.