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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 2,984 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 2,268% compared to the typical daily volume of 126 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEE. Barclays increased their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.40.

Ameren Stock Up 0.3 %

Ameren stock opened at $100.13 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.28. The stock has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $104.10. 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) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business 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 a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.25%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in Ameren by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.