Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Short Interest Update

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,770,000 shares, a decrease of 11.2% from the October 15th total of 3,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 392.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 15,484 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter worth about $1,417,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the second quarter worth about $2,632,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 137.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 100,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,407,000 after buying an additional 57,923 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 172,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,754,000 after buying an additional 25,898 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE stock traded down $0.56 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $91.79. The stock had a trading volume of 52,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,183. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.80. The firm has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $92.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.80.

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.