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

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 2,984 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 2,268% compared to the average volume of 126 call options.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $74.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $72.61 and its 200 day moving average is $73.45. Ameren has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $90.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 61.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 245.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 56,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,093,000 after acquiring an additional 40,202 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,168,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Ameren by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 142,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,272,000 after acquiring an additional 36,611 shares during the period. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $473,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,637,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,549,000 after acquiring an additional 17,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AEE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

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.