Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $77.00 to $88.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ameren traded as high as $88.51 and last traded at $88.24, with a volume of 193053 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $87.25.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Ameren by 115.3% during the 2nd 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 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 117.6% during the 1st 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. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 108.1% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.20.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

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.