Ameren (AEE) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) is set to announce its earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.12 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to register for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. On average, analysts expect Ameren to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $74.35 on Tuesday. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $90.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 61.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 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 value of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.