Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Sets New 12-Month High at $84.28

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $84.28 and last traded at $81.33, with a volume of 196228 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.50.

Ameren Stock Down 2.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.34.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 16.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,318,410.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other 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.