Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Ameren from an outperform rating to an in-line rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday. They set a sell rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Ameren from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $79.50.

Ameren Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $71.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.47 and its 200 day moving average is $73.60. Ameren has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $91.18.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEE. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 21.1% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,701,000 after purchasing an additional 5,025 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the first quarter worth about $769,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 114,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,724,000 after purchasing an additional 4,148 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 272,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,526,000 after purchasing an additional 8,174 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 14.4% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.