Ameren Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AEE)

by · The Markets Daily

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE – Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 2,984 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,268% compared to the typical volume of 126 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. Barclays set a $113.00 target price on Ameren in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Ameren from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. KeyCorp cut shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Ameren to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.80.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ameren

Ameren Trading Up 0.5%

Ameren stock opened at $99.84 on Thursday. Ameren has a 12 month low of $86.81 and a 12 month high of $106.73. The company has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.64 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 15.75%.Ameren’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. Ameren has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.450 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 4.900-5.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ameren will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 9th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.44, for a total transaction of $659,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 198,973 shares in the company, valued at $20,183,821.12. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 55,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,358,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Ameren by 10.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 34,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in Ameren by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 255,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 22,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,270,000 after buying an additional 8,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 209,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,161,000 after buying an additional 16,590 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.

Featured Articles