Ameren (AEE) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) is expected to be issuing its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, February 13th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.83 per share and revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter. Parties that wish to listen to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $97.05 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.83. Ameren has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $97.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AEE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays cut shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.