Ameren Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 2,984 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,268% compared to the average daily volume of 126 call options.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth $25,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 218.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ameren during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE stock opened at $71.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.50. Ameren has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $91.18.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

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.