Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Rating Increased to Outperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Evercore ISI currently has $104.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $89.00.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on AEE. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.30.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE stock opened at $96.21 on Tuesday. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $96.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $25.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $90.95 and its 200-day moving average is $85.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 106.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,162 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 8,645.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,160,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,015,410,000 after buying an additional 1,147,723 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 3,738.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 745,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,234,000 after acquiring an additional 726,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 484.8% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 637,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,733,000 after acquiring an additional 528,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

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.