Ameren Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 2,984 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,268% compared to the average daily volume of 126 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AEE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its position in Ameren by 0.6% during the second quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 4.2% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.4% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 115.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 117.6% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $86.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $89.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $85.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.33.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 60.63%.

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.