Barclays Boosts Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target to $102.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its target price lifted by analysts at Barclays from $95.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 3.27% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.40.

Ameren Stock Down 1.2 %

Ameren stock opened at $98.77 on Tuesday. Ameren has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.12. The company has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in Ameren by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.