Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $77.00 to $88.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ameren traded as high as $88.51 and last traded at $88.24, with a volume of 193053 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $87.25.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AEE. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 2,578 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 9.9% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, LongView Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth approximately $313,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a market cap of $23.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

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.