Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Receives $87.80 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $87.80.

AEE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company.

Ameren Stock Up 1.7 %

AEE stock opened at $91.22 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.15 and its 200-day moving average is $79.68. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $92.77.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its holdings in Ameren by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 4.2% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 1.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ameren

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.