Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Barclays

Barclays downgraded shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $95.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $88.00.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AEE. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

Ameren Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $92.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.27 and a 200 day moving average of $86.68. Ameren has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $96.74.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Ameren by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,149,221,000 after acquiring an additional 334,752 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,672,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $581,661,000 after purchasing an additional 127,287 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,561,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $398,992,000 after purchasing an additional 39,300 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after buying an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Ameren by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,318,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $202,779,000 after buying an additional 479,668 shares during the last quarter. 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.