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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 2,984 call options on the company. This is an increase of 2,268% compared to the average volume of 126 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AEE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.00.

Ameren Trading Down 0.1 %

Ameren stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $89.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,132,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,563,635. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $89.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $95.69. The firm has a market cap of $23.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren's payout ratio is 63.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 392.0% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 15,484 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,417,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,632,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,158,000 after buying an additional 984,879 shares during the period. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,682,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Company Profile

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.