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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.40.

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren 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 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 accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its stake in Ameren by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 20,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.5% in the first quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 0.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 42,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,145,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Up 0.9 %

AEE opened at $74.71 on Thursday. Ameren has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $91.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.19 and a 200-day moving average of $73.54.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.33%.

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.