Ameren Corp (NYSE:AEE) – Analysts at KeyCorp issued their FY2019 earnings estimates for Ameren in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, June 4th, Zacks Investment Research reports. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp expects that the utilities provider will earn $3.34 per share for the year. KeyCorp has a “Sector Weight” rating on the stock.
Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.08. Ameren had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 11.22%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on AEE. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Ameren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. ValuEngine lowered shares of Ameren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.40.
Shares of Ameren stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.11. 2,159,987 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,256,733. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.22. Ameren has a 1-year low of $59.15 and a 1-year high of $77.77. The company has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.27.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 104.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Berman Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Interactive Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bremer Trust National Association purchased a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 71.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In related news, SVP Mary P. Heger sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.02, for a total transaction of $228,060.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $90,324.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 56.38%.
About Ameren
Ameren Corporation operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. It operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. The company engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution and transmission businesses.