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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEE shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.90.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEE. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 106.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,644,000 after buying an additional 1,286,162 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 8,645.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,160,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,015,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,723 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Ameren by 59.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Ameren by 3,738.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 745,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,234,000 after purchasing an additional 726,438 shares during the period. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its holdings in Ameren by 192.6% during the second quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,103,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,475,000 after purchasing an additional 726,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $94.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

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.