Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $87.80.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Ameren by 115.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 108.1% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 227.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE opened at $91.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. Ameren has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $92.77. The firm has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.15 and its 200-day moving average is $79.68.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 63.06%.

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.