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Ameren (AEE) to Report Q2 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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Ameren Corporation (AEE - Free Report) is scheduled to release second-quarter 2020 results on Aug 6, after market closes. In the last reported quarter, this utility delivered a negative earnings surprise of 16.90%.

In the trailing four quarters, the company came up with an earnings surprise of 0.59%, on average.

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

Factors at Play

During the first-quarter earnings call, Ameren announced that it anticipates limited business activities during the entire second quarter, courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic’s impacts. This might have ultimately led to dismal commercial and industrial sales in the quarter under review.

However, residential sales are likely to have seen significant growth. In fact, in April, Ameren Missouri's customer sales (commercial and industrial) were down approximately 7% year over year, which might have contributed adversely to the company’s overall revenues.

Furthermore, Ameren’s service territories witnessed severe weather conditions during most of the second quarter, characterized by heavy rainfall and colder-than-normal temperatures. This is likely to have enhanced the usage of electricity for heating and boosted Ameren’s revenues in the to-be-reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s second-quarter revenues is pegged at $1.48 billion, implying a 7.3% rise from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Lower sales in Missouri due to COVID-19 impacts might have also reduced the company’s quarterly earnings. Nevertheless, robust rate base growth and disciplined cost management are expected to have boosted the company’s bottom line in the soon-to-be-reported quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ameren’s earnings in the second quarter is pegged at 95 cents, suggesting 31.9% growth from the year-ago quarter’s level.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Ameren this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But this is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Ameren carries a Zacks Rank #3, currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ameren Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Here is a stock from the Utilities sector that has the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season.

CenterPoint Energy (CNP - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +7.87% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company will announce second-quarter 2020 earnings on Aug 6.

Recent Utility Releases

NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of $2.61 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.50 by 4.4%.

FirstEnergy Corporation (FE - Free Report) delivered second-quarter 2020 operating earnings of 57 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 55 cents by 3.64%.

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