Morgan Stanley Lowers Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target to $72.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AEE. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a sell rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays raised Ameren from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com raised Ameren from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $79.20.

Ameren Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $70.95 on Monday. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $88.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 245.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 56,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,093,000 after buying an additional 40,202 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,007,000 after purchasing an additional 12,431 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $1,168,000. Putnam Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 5,112,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,849,000 after purchasing an additional 156,733 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Ameren by 83.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 264,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,158,000 after purchasing an additional 120,849 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.