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

Key Points

• Investors significantly increased their activity in Ameren options, with 2,984 call options purchased, a 2,268% surge from the typical volume of 126.
• Ameren reported earnings of $1.01 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, up 31.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71, which will be paid to investors on December 31st, representing an annualized yield of 2.7%.

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 2,984 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,268% compared to the typical volume of 126 call options.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $105.36 on Thursday. Ameren has a 1 year low of $85.27 and a 1 year high of $105.67. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $101.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.16, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Ameren had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Ameren's revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ameren has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.850-5.050 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 9th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ameren from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.38.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total value of $101,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,129 shares in the company, valued at $929,240.91. This represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 70.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 258 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 6,040.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 728.9% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 343 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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