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

Key Points

• Ameren Corporation experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with 2,984 call options purchased, representing a 2,268% increase from the average volume.
• Institutional investors recently boosted their stakes in Ameren, with new investments totaling over $14 million from various firms in the first quarter alone.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings of $1.01 EPS, exceeding the estimate of $1.00, alongside revenue growth of 31.2% year-over-year.

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 2,984 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseof2,268% compared to the typical volume of 126 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.79, for a total transaction of $101,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $929,240.91. The trade was a 9.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the first quarter worth $204,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the first quarter worth $897,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the first quarter worth $13,552,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 6.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,699,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 5.3% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AEE. KeyCorp set a $104.00 price objective on Ameren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ameren from $111.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Ameren from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.80.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock opened at $99.92 on Thursday. Ameren has a 12 month low of $82.79 and a 12 month high of $104.10. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $99.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.23. The company has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

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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