Saint Louis, Missouri-based Ameren Corporation (AEE) generates and distributes electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale end markets in Missouri and Illinois. With a market cap of $25.1 billion, Ameren operates through Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission segments.
The utility major is set to unveil its Q4 results after the market closes on Thursday, Feb. 13. Ahead of the event, analysts expect AEE to report a non-GAAP profit of $0.83 per share, up 38.3% from $0.60 per share reported in the year-ago quarter. While the company has surpassed Wall Street’s earnings projections once over the past four quarters, it has missed the estimates on three other occasions. Its adjusted EPS for the last reported quarter remained static at $1.87 same as the year-ago quarter and missed the consensus estimates by 2.1%.
For the full fiscal 2024, Ameren is expected to report an adjusted EPS of $4.63, up 5.7% from $4.38 in fiscal 2023. While in fiscal 2025, its earnings are expected to grow 6.5% year-over-year to $4.93 per share.
AEE stock has surged 37.7% over the past 52 weeks, outpacing the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 25.3% gains and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLU) 32.6% returns during the same time frame.
Ameren’s stock prices dropped 1.4% in the trading session after the release of its disappointing Q3 results on Nov. 6. The company reported a 5.5% year-over-year growth in operating revenues to $2.2 billion, which missed Street’s expectations by 1.6%. Meanwhile, the company observed a notable 9.8% increase in operating expenses to $1.6 billion which led to a 4.6% drop in operating income to $586 million.
However, the company’s non-GAAP EPS remained steady at $1.87 for the quarter, and it gave a strong full-year EPS guidance of $4.55 to $4.69 for fiscal 2024 and $4.85 to $5.05 for fiscal 2025 which mitigated the drop in stock prices.
The consensus opinion on AEE stock is moderately bullish, with an overall “Moderate Buy” rating. Out of the 16 analysts covering the stock, 10 recommend “Strong Buy,” five suggest “Hold,” and one advocates a “Strong Sell” rating. As of writing, AEE is trading slightly above its mean price target of $92.93.
