Ameren Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AEE)

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

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $94.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,606,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,561,724. The company has a market cap of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The business's fifty day moving average is $98.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

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Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in Ameren in the first quarter valued at $60,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ameren by 11,913.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $80,500,000 after acquiring an additional 795,120 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Ameren by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 571 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Ameren by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.70.

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.