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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 2,984 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,268% compared to the typical volume of 126 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 331,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,019,000 after acquiring an additional 19,217 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $463,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 5.2% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 1.3 %

Ameren stock opened at $90.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. Ameren has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $90.18 and its 200-day moving average is $83.15. The company has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.47.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.89.

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.