Ameren (AEE) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) is scheduled to be posting its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect Ameren to post earnings of $1.12 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm’s revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Ameren to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $74.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.47. Ameren has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $90.72.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, 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 value of $513,989.00. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% 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.