Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Given New $112.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $112.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AEE. KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.80.

Ameren Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $95.14 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.67. The firm has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 62.97%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEE. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 0.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 489,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Ameren by 6.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 331,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,019,000 after buying an additional 19,217 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Ameren by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Ameren by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 57,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,159,000 after buying an additional 3,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in Ameren by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.