Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $95.00 and last traded at $94.63, with a volume of 28952 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

Ameren Trading Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.61.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Ameren by 392.0% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,382,000 after buying an additional 15,484 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth $1,417,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the second quarter valued at $2,632,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Ameren by 137.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 100,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,407,000 after purchasing an additional 57,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,682,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.