Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Receives $89.89 Consensus PT from Analysts

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.89.

Several research firms have commented on AEE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $88.85 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. Ameren has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $95.69. The company has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 86,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,185,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Ameren by 9.6% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 71,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,071,000 after purchasing an additional 6,259 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the second quarter valued at about $171,000. PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in Ameren by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 10,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 4,586 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.