Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Short Interest Update

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,470,000 shares, a decline of 19.9% from the March 15th total of 5,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ameren Stock Up 0.3 %

AEE stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.31. 1,747,644 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,585,972. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $98.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.42. Ameren has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in Ameren by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.22.

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.