Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Ameren Call Options (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 2,984 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,268% compared to the typical volume of 126 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren during the third quarter valued at $44,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Ameren by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $96.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. Ameren has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $97.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $91.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AEE shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays downgraded shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

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.