Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its target price increased by analysts at Barclays from $95.00 to $102.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 1.65% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AEE. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.40.

Ameren Stock Up 2.1 %

Ameren stock opened at $103.71 on Tuesday. Ameren has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $103.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.94.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Company Profile

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.