Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 15.75%.The firm had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion.

Ameren Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AEE traded up $0.13 on Wednesday, hitting $105.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,384,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,661,716. The firm has a market cap of $28.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.57. Ameren has a 52-week low of $91.77 and a 52-week high of $106.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given 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 is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total transaction of $673,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 193,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,002,673.60. The trade was a 3.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Ameren by 285.5% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ameren from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ameren from $112.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.60.

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.