Updating Ameren Corp., Idexx Laboratories Inc., and Tegna Inc.

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AMEREN CORP. $62 (New York symbol AEE; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 242.6 million; Market cap: $15.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ameren.com) provides power and natural gas to 3.3 million clients in Illinois and Missouri. Thanks to warmer-than-normal weather in Missouri, which spurred demand for air conditioning, Ameren’s earnings in the three months ended June 30, 2018, jumped 22.8%, to $0.97 from $0.79 a year earlier. Revenue gained 1.6%, to $1.56 billion from $1.54 billion. The company still plans to spend about $11.1 billion between 2018 and 2022 on upgrades to its regulated operations. The improvements include building new renewable energy projects. That should cut its reliance on coal, which now supplies about 70% of its electrical power. Ameren will probably earn between $3.15 and $3.35 a share for all of 2018. The stock trades at 19.1 times the midpoint of that range. Ameren Corp. is a hold. IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $244 (Nasdaq symbol IDXX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry…