Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on AEE. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a sell rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $79.90.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $74.23 on Wednesday. Ameren has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $90.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.87 and its 200 day moving average is $73.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEE. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7,133.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $694,670,000 after purchasing an additional 947,011 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,445,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Ameren by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,286,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $171,081,000 after buying an additional 532,800 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Ameren in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,895,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 1,770.6% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 355,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,596,000 after buying an additional 336,416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.