Ameren (NYSE:AEE) PT Raised to $81.00 at Morgan Stanley

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $81.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential downside of 1.36% from the company’s previous close.

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

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.12. 211,305 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,643,502. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $84.40. The company has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.68 and its 200-day moving average is $73.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $981,520.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Ameren by 115.3% in 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 during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 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.