KeyCorp Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for Ameren

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) - Investment analysts at KeyCorp increased their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Ameren in a note issued to investors on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.71 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.60. The consensus estimate for Ameren's current full-year earnings is $4.62 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Ameren's FY2028 earnings at $6.03 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.80.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $88.99. The company had a trading volume of 945,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,591,529. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $89.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 15.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the first quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Fox Hill Wealth Management lifted its position in Ameren by 10.8% during the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 17,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 1,679 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 163.6% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Ameren's payout ratio is 60.63%.

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.