Ameren (NYSE:AEE) PT Raised to $81.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $76.00 to $81.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.93% from the company’s previous close.

AEE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.90.

Ameren Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $74.36 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $90.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $72.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ameren will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Ameren by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its position in Ameren by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth $27,895,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 703.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 129,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,566,000 after purchasing an additional 113,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 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.