Exelon’s steady dividend payouts

Third-quarter dividend announcement

On October 21, 2014, Exelon Corporation (EXC) announced dividend payments for its third quarter. Exelon declared regular quarterly dividends of $0.31 per share. The dividend will be paid to shareholders on December 10, 2014.

Dividend yield comparison

As of November 6, 2014, Exelon’s dividend yield is 3.64%. Dividend yield corresponds to the returns that a stock offers to investors in the form of a dividend. It is calculated by dividing share price by the annual dividend paid by the stock.

Exelon’s dividend yield is in line with the industry average of 3.78%. Teco Energy, Inc. (TE) offers the best dividend yield to investors in the power utilities sector. Its dividend yield is 6.33%.

Of those companies compared in the above chart, PPL Corporation (PPL) has the highest yield of 4.52%. Virginia based AES Corporation (AES) has the lowest yield in the group. AES currently offers a dividend yield of 1.34%.

All of these companies are part of the Select Sector Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU).

Exelon’s dividend going forward

Like most other power companies in the US, Exelon pays its annual dividend in four equal installments—one each quarter. Exelon paid $0.31 per share to investors in each quarter of the year.

Exelon’s poor operational performance led to a dividend cut in Q2 of last year. This was the first time Exelon cut dividends since it began operations in 2000. Any further cut to Exelon’s dividends seems remote, particularly in the near term, given the company’s stable operations in recent quarters.