Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.70.

AEE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays cut shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Ameren Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE AEE opened at $98.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren has a 1-year low of $69.31 and a 1-year high of $100.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in Ameren by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Company Profile

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.