Ameren Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 2,984 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,268% compared to the typical volume of 126 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 1.5% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Ameren by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.53. The company had a trading volume of 939,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,566,478. Ameren has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $100.61. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $92.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Ameren from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.70.

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.