Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06), RTT News reports. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.52%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Ameren updated its FY 2025 guidance to 4.850-5.050 EPS.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $99.37. 445,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,411,387. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. Ameren has a fifty-two week low of $68.60 and a fifty-two week high of $100.62.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.00.

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.