BTIG Research Initiates Coverage on Ameren (NYSE:AEE)

Equities researchers at BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.46% from the stock’s current price.

AEE has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.92.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock opened at $113.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Ameren has a 12 month low of $93.27 and a 12 month high of $115.53. The firm has a market cap of $31.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $109.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.96.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total transaction of $673,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 193,076 shares in the company, valued at $20,002,673.60. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Ameren by 285.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ameren by 6,040.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 6,080.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.