Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $93.40.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AEE. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 984,879 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,682,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ameren by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,134,000 after purchasing an additional 362,772 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 265.0% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 173,771 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,198,000 after purchasing an additional 126,157 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $100.17. 737,789 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,731,810. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $96.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.22. The company has a market cap of $27.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

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.