Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05, Zacks reports. Ameren had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $108.76. 1,955,567 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,725,129. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $111.01 and its 200-day moving average is $109.54. Ameren has a 12 month low of $96.57 and a 12 month high of $118.32. The stock has a market cap of $30.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 53.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 1,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.35, for a total value of $164,025.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,602,317.05. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Ameren by 285.5% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6,040.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ameren from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $122.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BTIG Research set a $126.00 target price on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ameren from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.