Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Short Interest Update

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,250,000 shares, an increase of 20.1% from the December 15th total of 3,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Ameren Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AEE traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $94.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,351,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,202,618. The company has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.47. 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 has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $95.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Ameren during the third quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.89.

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.