Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $101.10 and last traded at $100.51, with a volume of 49838 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AEE. Barclays cut shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $93.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $27.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in Ameren by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 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.