Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $104.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $89.00.

AEE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.30.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $96.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.74. Ameren has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $96.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Ameren by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 47,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,215,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,359,000 after acquiring an additional 3,093 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by 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.