Ameren Co. to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $0.93 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for Ameren in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 17th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.93 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.92. The consensus estimate for Ameren’s current full-year earnings is $4.59 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ameren’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.81 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.15 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.01 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.88 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.31 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.31 EPS.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company’s revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

Ameren Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $72.51 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.49. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $91.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 100,874.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 74,273,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,604,406,000 after acquiring an additional 74,200,015 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Ameren by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,337,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,326,568,000 after buying an additional 5,790,342 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ameren by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,824,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,051,453,000 after buying an additional 2,200,700 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,889,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,302,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7,133.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $694,670,000 after acquiring an additional 947,011 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

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.