Analysts Set Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) PT at $93.40

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $94.10.

AEE has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Ameren Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $100.01 on Friday. Ameren has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The company has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. 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.