Ameren Corporation AEE is scheduled to release second-quarter 2021 results on Aug 6. In the last reported quarter, this utility delivered an earnings surprise of 15.19%.However, in the trailing four quarters, the company came up with an earnings surprise of 6.85%, on average.Let’s see how things have shaped up prior to this announcement.Factors at PlayAmeren’s operational regions witnessed more or less average temperatures during most of the second quarter, highlighted with above-normal precipitation. Such weather conditions are expected to have kept electricity demand moderate from the utility’s consumers, which in turn is expected to have boosted its revenues during the period under consideration.In recent times, Ameren has been witnessing improvements in sales as schools and businesses are reopening and increasing their levels of operation. We expect this trend to have continued and thereby favorably impacted the top line in the second quarter.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s second-quarter revenues is pegged at $1.41 billion, implying a 1.1% rise from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.The company’s service territories witnessed severe weather events, which included a handful of snowstorms and tornados, during the second quarter. These might have damaged its infrastructure, thereby pushing up operating expenses. This, in turn, might have had an adverse impact on the company’s bottom-line performance.During the first-quarter earnings call, the company anticipated that its second-quarter earnings will be negatively impacted by a seasonal rate design change for 2021 in Ameren Missouri, as part of the March 2020 electric rate order. Also, the second-quarter results are expected to be negatively impacted by the absence of the impact of the 2024 FERC order. Together, these two items are expected to have reduced second-quarter earnings by approximately 25 cents year over year.In line with this, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ameren’s earnings in the second quarter is pegged at 78 cents, suggesting a 20.4% decline from the year-ago quarter’s reported number.Ameren Corporation Price and EPS Surprise Ameren Corporation price-eps-surprise | Ameren Corporation QuoteEarnings WhispersOur 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: Ameren has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Zacks Rank: The company carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Stocks to ConsiderHere are a few players from the Utilities sector that have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season.CenterPoint Energy CNP has an Earnings ESP of +0.68% and a Zacks Rank #3.Duke Energy DUK has an Earnings ESP of +0.15% and a Zacks Rank #3.Telephone and Data Systems TDS has an Earnings ESP of +6.33% and a Zacks Rank #1. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2021. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Ameren Corporation (AEE): Free Stock Analysis Report Duke Energy Corporation (DUK): Free Stock Analysis Report CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP): Free Stock Analysis Report Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.