Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $89.04 and last traded at $88.84, with a volume of 44686 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Ameren Trading Down 0.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.63%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 493.0% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 18,064 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Ameren by 392.0% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 15,484 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 137.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 100,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,407,000 after buying an additional 57,923 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 2nd quarter worth $2,632,000. 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.