Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Here's Why You Should Add Exelon (EXC) to Your Portfolio Now

Read MoreHide Full Article

Exelon Corporation (EXC - Free Report) is focused solely on transmission and distribution operations. Its strategic capital investment will strengthen its transmission and distribution infrastructure and assist it in providing reliable services to its customers. Given its growth opportunities, EXC makes for a solid investment option in the utility sector.

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Let’s look at the factors that are driving the stock.

Growth Projections & Surprise History of EXC

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at $2.44, which indicates year-over-year growth of 2.5%.

The consensus estimate for sales is pegged at $22.1 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 1.7%.

EXC’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 5.66%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 4.5% in the past four quarters.

EXC Stock Dividend Yield

EXC distributes dividends to shareholders on a regular basis. It aims to increase its dividend per share by 5-7% annually through 2027 and has a long-term dividend payout ratio of 60%. Its current dividend yield is 4.01%, which is better than the industry’s average of 3.47%.

Current Ratio of EXC

EXC’s current ratio is 1.03, better than the industry average of 085. The current ratio, being greater than one indicates the company has enough short-term assets to meet its short-term obligations.

Solvency of EXC Stock

The company’s time-to-interest earned ratio at the end of the second quarter was 2.5. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects its ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.

EXC’s Investments

Exelon invests substantially in infrastructure projects and plans to invest nearly $34.5 billion during the 2024-2027 time period. The company is going to invest $21 billion in electric distribution, $9.7 billion in electric transmission and $3.9 billion in gas delivery during the 2024-2027 time period. It will invest $7.4 billion in 2024 to strengthen its operations.

The systematic investments will support rate-based growth of nearly 7.5% through 2027 from the 2023 base. The company is also targeting annual long-term EPS growth in the band of 5-7% during the 2023-2027 period.

EXC Stock Performance

Shares of EXC have gained 11.5% in the quarter-to-date period compared with the sector’s 8.5% growth.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other Stocks to Consider

Other top-ranked stocks in the industry are American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP - Free Report) , The AES Corporation (AES - Free Report) and NiSource Inc. (NI - Free Report) . Each of these stocks currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.

American Electric Power’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.24%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 6.5%.

AES Corporation delivered an average earnings surprise of 19.2% in the last four quarters. The consensus estimate for 2024 earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 9.1%.

NiSource delivered an average earnings surprise of 20.6% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 7.5%.


 

Published in