Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $96.74 and last traded at $96.44, with a volume of 17431 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $95.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays cut Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.00.

Ameren Trading Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $91.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ameren by 2.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,149,221,000 after purchasing an additional 334,752 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,672,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $581,661,000 after buying an additional 127,287 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,561,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $398,992,000 after purchasing an additional 39,300 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Ameren by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,318,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $202,779,000 after purchasing an additional 479,668 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.