Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target to $96.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $96.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday. They issued a buy rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Ameren Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $85.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $85.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.47.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ameren will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,007,000 after purchasing an additional 12,431 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 3,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $587,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 183,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,273,000 after buying an additional 16,269 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 business.