Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $89.04 and last traded at $88.84, with a volume of 44686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AEE. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.80.

Ameren Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $84.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,931,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,696,022,000 after buying an additional 4,593,638 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 204.3% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,827,897 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $283,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,569,897 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,162 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,092,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,447,516,000 after purchasing an additional 802,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 192.6% during the 2nd quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,103,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $78,475,000 after purchasing an additional 726,404 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.