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Can Exelon (EXC) Ride on Rate Hike This Earnings Season?

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Exelon Corporation (EXC - Free Report) is expected to report first-quarter 2018 earnings before the opening bell on May 2. The utility reported a negative earnings surprise of 11.29% in the previous quarter.

Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to the earnings announcement.

Factors to Consider

Exelon expects first-quarter earnings in the range of 90 cents-$1.00 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is pegged at 93 cents, reflecting a 43.1% increase from the year-ago quarter.
 
We believe that the rate hikes received from Commonwealth Edison Company, effective Jan 1, 2018, will have a positive impact on Exelon’s performance.  This rate hike will result in an increase in annual revenues by $95.6 million.

Exelon is expected to benefit from its cost management initiatives and its strong free cash flow generation capacity will allow it to lower debt levels and increase its dividend by 5% annually over 2017- 2020 time frame.

Exelon Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
 

Exelon Corporation Price and EPS Surprise | Exelon Corporation Quote

Earnings Whisper

A stock needs to have both a positive  Earnings ESP  and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to be able to beat estimates and at present, Exelon does not have the right combination.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is -0.47%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate is 92 cents while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is 93 cents.

Zacks Rank: Exelon carries a Zacks Rank #3. The combination of a favorable Zacks Rank and a negative ESP makes a positive surprise unlikely this season.

Conversely, we caution against Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some stocks in the Zacks Utility Power industry that are expected to report a positive earnings surprise. Investors can consider the following stocks from the same space this season.

WEC Energy Group Inc. (WEC - Free Report) is expected to report first-quarter earnings on May 1. The company has a Zacks Rank #2 and an Earnings ESP of +0.58%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

IDACORP Inc. (IDA - Free Report) is expected to report first-quarter earnings on May 3. The company has a Zacks Rank #2 and an Earnings ESP of +3.55%.

Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (HE - Free Report) is expected to report first-quarter earnings on May 4. The company has a Zacks Rank #2 and an Earnings ESP of +0.91%.

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