BMO Capital Markets Trims Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Target Price to $80.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $81.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target points to a potential upside of 14.06% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AEE. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.20.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $70.14 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $88.72. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $72.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.12.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $981,520.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,318,410.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 117.6% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 108.1% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 227.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.