Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target Lowered to $119.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price objective trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $121.00 to $119.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

AEE has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ameren from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Ameren from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ameren from $126.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.83.

Ameren Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:AEE opened at $111.99 on Wednesday. Ameren has a 52 week low of $96.57 and a 52 week high of $118.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $110.60 and its 200-day moving average is $109.10. The firm has a market cap of $30.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.47.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ameren will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.08, for a total value of $35,451.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,557,971.44. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tema ETFs LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 5,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 18,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,113,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its position in Ameren by 11.7% during the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ameren by 8.1% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,292,000 after buying an additional 2,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ameren in the second quarter worth about $228,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ameren

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.