Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Increased by Zacks Research

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Ameren in a research report issued 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 previous 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 posted 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). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis.

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

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $72.51 on Thursday. Ameren has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $91.18. 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 company has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.49.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 100,874.2% in 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 lifted its stake in Ameren by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,337,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,326,568,000 after buying an additional 5,790,342 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 22.9% in the fourth 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 boosted its holdings in Ameren by 8.0% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,889,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,302,326,000 after buying an additional 1,029,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 947,011 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

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.