Morgan Stanley raises Ameren (NYSE:AEE) price target to $81.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE – Free Report) Its price objective was upped by Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $81.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently hold equal weight in the utility provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AEE. Barclays raised Ameren from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ameren from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $80.10, according to data from MarketBeat.

Get the latest analysis on Ameren

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $82.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.92, and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.61. The company has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45, and a current ratio of 0.67. Ameren has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $84.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE – Get Your Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted earnings of $0.90 per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren announces dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11. This represents an annualized dividend of $2.68 and a yield of 3.27%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Insiders place their bets

In other Ameren news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible via this hyperlink. 0.42% of shares are owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge funds weigh Ameren

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 79.09% of shares are held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Company Profile

(Get a free report)

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 activities of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity regulated by tariffs; and regulated rate natural gas distribution businesses.

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