Ameren Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AEE)

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 600.0% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Ameren during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $100.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Ameren has a 1 year low of $76.95 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.81. The company has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $114.00 price target on shares of Ameren and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $104.00 price target on shares of Ameren and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.36.

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.