Ameren (AEE) Could Be a Great Choice
Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.
While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.
Headquartered in St Louis, Ameren (AEE) is a Utilities stock that has seen a price change of 1.8% so far this year. The utility is paying out a dividend of $0.75 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.95% compared to the Utility - Electric Power industry's yield of 3.24% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.4%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $3.00 is up 5.6% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Ameren has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.11%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Ameren's current payout ratio is 56%, meaning it paid out 56% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, AEE expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $5.40 per share, with earnings expected to increase 7.36% from the year ago period.
Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.
For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, AEE is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
