Ameren Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 2,984 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,268% compared to the typical daily volume of 126 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Ameren by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after buying an additional 8,264 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Ameren by 88.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 1,897 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 43.8% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $87.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $88.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.33.

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.