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

Key Points

• Ameren beat quarterly EPS estimates: The utility reported $1.13 per share, $0.05 above the $1.08 consensus, but revenue of $2.09 billion fell short of the $2.27 billion estimate.
• Shares declined during trading to $108.76, while Ameren maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% annualized yield.
• Analysts remain generally positive: Ten analysts rate Ameren a Buy and three a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $121.50.

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

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE stock traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $108.76. 1,955,567 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,725,129. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Ameren has a 52-week low of $96.57 and a 52-week 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $111.01 and its 200 day moving average is $109.54.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.35, for a total transaction of $164,025.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ameren by 6,051.1% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 932,017 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,071,000 after buying an additional 916,865 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,503,721 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,448,342,000 after acquiring an additional 457,876 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 1,098.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 402,316 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,175,000 after acquiring an additional 368,743 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,198,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its holdings in Ameren by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 959,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $95,850,000 after acquiring an additional 257,493 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $122.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ameren from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research set a $126.00 price target on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ameren from $126.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.50.

About Ameren

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.