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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 2,984 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,268% compared to the average volume of 126 call options.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Ameren in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 price target on Ameren and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.90.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $96.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,370,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,564,118. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.36. The stock has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. Ameren has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The company's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

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.