Mizuho Upgrades Ameren (NYSE:AEE) to “Outperform”

Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Mizuho currently has $89.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $82.00.

Several other analysts also recently commented on AEE. Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $82.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $85.47 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.12. The company has a market capitalization of $22.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $85.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its stake in Ameren by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

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.