Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Short Interest Up 51.5% in September

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,650,000 shares, a growth of 51.5% from the August 31st total of 2,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE opened at $86.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $87.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.91.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ameren will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 25.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,931,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,696,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,593,638 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP grew its position in shares of Ameren by 204.3% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,827,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $283,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569,897 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 106.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,162 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $60,445,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,092,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,447,516,000 after purchasing an additional 802,714 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.33.

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.