Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided EPS guidance of 4.520-4.720 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 4.610. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a sell rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $79.90.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $74.11. The stock had a trading volume of 478,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,715,859. Ameren has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $90.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.36. The company has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Insider Activity

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