Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE – Get Rating) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 2,984 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,268% compared to the average daily volume of 126 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ameren from $99.00 to $91.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Ameren from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.13.

Ameren Stock Down 3.1 %

AEE opened at $81.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.67. Ameren has a fifty-two week low of $80.34 and a fifty-two week high of $99.20. The firm's fifty day moving average is $92.04 and its 200 day moving average is $91.66. The stock has a market cap of $21.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.42.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 7th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 6th. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 60.51%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.07, for a total transaction of $153,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,362,080.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.07, for a total transaction of $153,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,362,080.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Warner L. Baxter sold 54,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.19, for a total transaction of $5,032,260.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 267,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,964,948.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 52,858 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,816 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,784 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,918,000 after buying an additional 2,449 shares during the last quarter. MD Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. MD Financial Management Inc. now owns 25,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,270,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.98% of the company's stock.

About Ameren

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Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. It operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. The company engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution and transmission businesses.

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