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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’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 transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the second quarter worth $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 117.6% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $87.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67. Ameren has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $88.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.24. The company has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.33.

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.