Wells Fargo & Company Increases Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target to $96.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $96.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on AEE. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a buy rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upgraded Ameren from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $85.00.

Ameren Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $85.65 on Friday. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $86.15. The company has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.61%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Brightwater Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the second quarter worth $2,228,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the second quarter worth $58,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 9.6% in 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

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.