Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Given New $87.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price objective lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $84.00 to $87.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a buy rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a sell rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upgraded Ameren from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $79.20.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, hitting $80.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,351,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,687,638. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $84.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.89 and a 200 day moving average of $72.68. The company has a market cap of $21.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.61%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Ameren by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,931,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,696,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,593,638 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP grew its position in shares of Ameren by 204.3% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,827,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $283,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,569,897 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,445,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameren by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,092,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,447,516,000 after acquiring an additional 802,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its position in shares of Ameren by 192.6% in the 2nd quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,103,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,475,000 after acquiring an additional 726,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.