Ameren Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AEE)

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

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $84.62 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.28. Ameren has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $85.83.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly 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. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.17%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Ameren by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AEE. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.70.

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.