Zacks Research Has Pessimistic View of Ameren Q1 Earnings

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Ameren in a research report issued on Wednesday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.15 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.16. The consensus estimate for Ameren’s current full-year earnings is $4.93 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ameren’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.68 EPS.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also commented on AEE. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.70.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $99.71 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $97.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in Ameren by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Company Profile

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.