Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target Cut to $86.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $88.00 to $86.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AEE. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.90.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $93.54 on Friday. Ameren has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $94.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $88.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.47. The firm has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ameren by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 108.1% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ameren by 227.3% in the 1st 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

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.