Brokerages Set Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Price Target at $89.00

Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.00.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AEE. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Ameren during the third quarter valued at $74,000. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $463,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ameren by 5.2% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,672,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $581,661,000 after purchasing an additional 127,287 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $91.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.48. 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 has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $95.69.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

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.