Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Short Interest Update

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,770,000 shares, a decline of 11.2% from the October 15th total of 3,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AEE. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Argus raised Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.80.

Ameren Stock Up 1.7 %

AEE traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $91.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,447,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,544,125. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $87.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.65. The company has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Ameren has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $92.77.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ameren by 25.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,931,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,696,022,000 after buying an additional 4,593,638 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in Ameren by 204.3% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,827,897 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $283,111,000 after buying an additional 2,569,897 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 106.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,162 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 8,645.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,160,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,015,410,000 after buying an additional 1,147,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 59.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 984,879 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.