Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target Cut to $102.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $103.00 to $102.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 5.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Ameren from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.90.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $96.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $26.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $98.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.05. Ameren has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1,732.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,068,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,527,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901,047 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,170,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $460,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,539,129 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,038,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,518,835,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439,811 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter worth approximately $241,496,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Ameren by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,404,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,851,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,355,848 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.