Investing.com - Financial Markets Worldwide
Get 40% Off
Get 40% Off
🤯 Perficient is up a mind-blowing 53%. Our ProPicks AI saw the buying opportunity in March.Read full update

Ameren (AEE) To Report Q4 Earnings: What's In The Cards?

ByZacks Investment Research
Published 02/14/2018, 08:18 PM

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) is set to release fourth-quarter 2017 results on Feb 16, before the market opens.

Last quarter, the utility reported a negative earnings surprise of 5.34%. Moreover, it lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters, with an average miss of 1.05%.

Let’s see how things are shaping up at the company prior to this announcement.

Factors at Play

Per Ameren’s third-quarter earnings call, fourth-quarter 2017 earnings are expected to be impacted by expenses associated with the fourth quarter Callaway nuclear refueling and maintenance outage.

However, the company’s earnings are likely to increase on the back of strong rate-based growth and disciplined financial management. In line with this, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ameren’s fourth-quarter earnings of 33 cents per share reflects an annual growth of 153.9%.

Moreover, we expect the company’s yet-to-be reported quarter’s result to duly reflect the increase in revenue recognition, resulting from the Future Energy Jobs Act. Also the company expects to incur low interest expenses driven by the refinancing of debt in 2017, which is likely to get reflected in the upcoming results, partially.

Further, the company’s service territories witnessed almost normal temperatures during the fourth quarter. So we may expect weather condition to have a positive influence on the company’s revenues.

Ameren Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Ameren Corporation Price and EPS Surprise | Ameren Corporation Quote

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model doesn’t conclude that Ameren is likely to beat estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) — to be able to beat estimates.

Zacks ESP: Ameren has an Earnings ESP of -3.03%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Ameren has a Zacks Rank #3, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the company’s negative ESP makes surprise prediction difficult

We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into an earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few operators in the electric utility space that you may consider, as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) will report next quarterly results on Feb 22. The company has an Earnings ESP of +1.44% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has an Earnings ESP of +2.65% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is scheduled to report next quarterly results on Feb 22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) has an Earnings ESP of +0.72% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is scheduled to report next quarterly results on Feb 23.

The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All

Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.

See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>

3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads .


Ameren Corporation (AEE): Free Stock Analysis Report

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP): Free Stock Analysis Report

Edison International (EIX): Free Stock Analysis Report

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PEG): Free Stock Analysis Report

Original post

Zacks Investment Research

Latest comments

Install Our App
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.