Investors Purchase High Volume of Ameren Call Options (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) was the recipient of 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 average volume of 126 call options.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock opened at $84.62 on Thursday. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $85.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $80.52 and its 200 day moving average is $75.28.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ameren will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.70.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,007,000 after acquiring an additional 12,431 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 3,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 21,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.