Brokerages Set Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Target Price at $79.40

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.40.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $73.66 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Ameren has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $90.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ameren will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders 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 3.64%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 61.33%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter worth $37,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.