Yahoo Finance 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 when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.
Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a metric that measures a 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.
Ameren in Focus
Based in St Louis, Ameren (AEE) is in the Utilities sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -2.82%. The utility is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.63 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.92%. This compares to the Utility - Electric Power industry's yield of 3.18% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.75%.
Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $2.52 is up 6.8% from last year. Ameren has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 6.78%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Ameren's current payout ratio is 57%, meaning it paid out 57% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, AEE expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is $4.35 per share, with earnings expected to increase 5.07% from the year ago period.
Bottom Line
From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.
High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. Income investors must be conscious 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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Ameren Corporation (AEE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
