Analysts Set Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Target Price at $93.40

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $93.40.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.9 %

AEE opened at $99.87 on Friday. Ameren has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The firm has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $96.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 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 last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

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.