Zacks Research Issues Negative Outlook for Ameren Earnings

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Ameren in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $1.17 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.19. The consensus estimate for Ameren's current full-year earnings is $4.93 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ameren's Q4 2026 earnings at $1.30 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.32 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.70 EPS.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS.

AEE has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.70.

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Ameren Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.71. 1,797,846 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,608. Ameren has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $97.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.02. The firm has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 over the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.