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

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 2,984 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,268% compared to the average daily volume of 126 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AEE. Barclays set a $113.00 price objective on Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Ameren to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.50.

Ameren Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE AEE opened at $105.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $28.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.50. Ameren has a 52 week low of $86.40 and a 52 week high of $106.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $102.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.07. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 14.55%.The company had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.900-5.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 9th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, SVP Gwendolyn G. Mizell sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,240.91. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.44, for a total value of $659,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 198,973 shares in the company, valued at $20,183,821.12. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter worth $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 70.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6,040.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in Ameren by 728.9% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

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.