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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $96.40 and last traded at $96.46, with a volume of 74577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.30.

Ameren Stock Down 3.0 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.07 and a 200 day moving average of $85.97. The firm has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 106.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,644,000 after buying an additional 1,286,162 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ameren by 8,645.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,160,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,015,410,000 after buying an additional 1,147,723 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 984,879 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 3,738.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 745,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,234,000 after purchasing an additional 726,438 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 484.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 637,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,733,000 after acquiring an additional 528,270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

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.