Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Sets New 12-Month High at $85.80

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $85.80 and last traded at $85.64, with a volume of 266429 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upgraded Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.28.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the first quarter valued at $31,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.