Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Sets New 12-Month High at $85.80

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $85.80 and last traded at $85.64, with a volume of 266429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays raised Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.70.

Ameren Stock Up 1.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.02.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEE. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 0.6% during the second quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.4% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 5.5% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.