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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) 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 average volume of 126 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on 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 raised their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.40.

Ameren Stock Up 0.3 %

AEE opened at $100.13 on Thursday. Ameren has a 12 month low of $69.39 and a 12 month 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be 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 yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,682,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,134,000 after buying an additional 362,772 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 265.0% in the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 173,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,198,000 after acquiring an additional 126,157 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.