Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren (NYSE:AEE) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $104.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $89.00.

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

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $93.46 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Ameren has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $96.74. The company has a market cap of $24.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,149,221,000 after acquiring an additional 334,752 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,672,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $581,661,000 after purchasing an additional 127,287 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 0.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,561,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $398,992,000 after purchasing an additional 39,300 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 59.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 106.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,644,000 after buying an additional 1,286,162 shares during 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.