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

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $89.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 11th. 888 restated an “upgrade” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Monday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.56.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $80.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.98. The company has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Ameren has a 12-month low of $73.28 and a 12-month high of $93.01.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 10.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 3,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.63, for a total transaction of $251,232.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 161,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,849,813.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Ameren by 100,874.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 74,273,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,604,406,000 after purchasing an additional 74,200,015 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 133.8% during the 1st quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 4,990,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,855,894 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ameren by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,824,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,051,453,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200,700 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Ameren by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,889,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,302,326,000 after buying an additional 1,029,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,984,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $265,358,000 after buying an additional 849,651 shares in the last quarter. 77.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 and transmission businesses.