Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of Ameren Q1 Earnings

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) – Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ameren in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 2nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.07 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.15. The consensus estimate for Ameren’s current full-year earnings is $4.93 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ameren’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.98 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.38 EPS.

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

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $100.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,901,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,729,000. Finally, Armis Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% 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.