Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Stock Rating Lowered by Barclays

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) was downgraded by investment analysts at Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $95.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $88.00. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 0.85% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $94.20 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $96.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $91.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 4.2% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 1.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Ameren by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 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.