Zacks Research Issues Positive Outlook for Ameren Earnings

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ameren in a note issued to investors on Thursday, March 6th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.16 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.11. The consensus estimate for Ameren's current full-year earnings is $4.93 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ameren's Q2 2025 earnings at $0.91 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.65 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.91 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.38 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.01 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.28 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.67 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays raised 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. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.40.

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Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.97. 2,232,716 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,430,281. Ameren has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1,732.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,068,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $273,527,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901,047 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,170,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $460,917,000 after buying an additional 2,539,129 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ameren by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,038,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,518,835,000 after buying an additional 2,439,811 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Ameren by 116.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,357,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $210,181,000 after buying an additional 1,266,051 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Ameren by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,134,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $190,250,000 after acquiring an additional 926,126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

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.