Wells Fargo & Company Raises Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target to $96.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $96.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.87% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on AEE. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. UBS Group began coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $85.05. 623,805 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,610,601. The company has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.34. Ameren has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $85.83.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ameren by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,007,000 after acquiring an additional 12,431 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased 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 worth $536,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 3,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at about $587,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Ameren by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 183,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,273,000 after buying an additional 16,269 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.