Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Stock Price

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $100.00 to $111.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AEE. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.75.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE opened at $104.95 on Tuesday. Ameren has a 12-month low of $85.27 and a 12-month high of $106.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $101.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.91.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 9th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.42%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total value of $101,790.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,240.91. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Ameren by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 34,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after acquiring an additional 3,112 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 22,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 8,618 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $897,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Ameren by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,825,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $283,636,000 after acquiring an additional 151,808 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $13,552,000. 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.