Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.00.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AEE shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Ameren Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $92.28 on Friday. Ameren has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $95.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.43.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 4.9% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 12.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 227.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 8.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $820,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ameren by 2.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,084,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.