Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Receives $89.89 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.89.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. 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 note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,149,221,000 after buying an additional 334,752 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ameren by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,672,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $581,661,000 after acquiring an additional 127,287 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,561,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $398,992,000 after acquiring an additional 39,300 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 984,879 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,162 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $88.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $90.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.90. Ameren has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $95.69.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 63.06%.

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.