Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target Raised to $104.00 at KeyCorp

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price target boosted by research analysts at KeyCorp from $103.00 to $104.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 16th, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price points to a potential upside of 3.84% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.36.

Ameren Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:AEE traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $100.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,059,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,824. The company has a market capitalization of $27.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren has a 12 month low of $77.08 and a 12 month high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.90.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its position in shares of Ameren by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 37.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 64,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,232,000 after purchasing an additional 17,788 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 42,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,047,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.