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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.30.

Ameren Stock Up 0.1 %

AEE stock opened at $93.46 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $91.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.97. The company has a market cap of $24.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $96.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Ameren by 1.5% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 1.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.