Short Interest in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Declines By 19.9%

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 short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ameren Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Ameren stock traded down $2.22 during trading on Monday, hitting $96.43. 1,248,049 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,584,619. The stock has a market cap of $26.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.52. Ameren has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its holdings in Ameren by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 9,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Ameren by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 57,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,823,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new position in Ameren during the 1st quarter worth $302,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 7.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 47,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,729,000 after acquiring an additional 3,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of 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 price objective on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.22.

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.