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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

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

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $74.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $90.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.61 and a 200 day moving average of $73.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.59 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 61.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.