Ameren Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 2,984 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 2,268% compared to the typical volume of 126 call options.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $93.38 on Thursday. Ameren has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $96.74. The company has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Ameren by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 22,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 1,751 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $252,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $368,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.30.

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.