Exelon Corp

The defensives and utilities sector fell more than 2% last week while broader markets fell just 0.3%. Here’s why.

NextEra Energy (NEE) stock is trading at 22 times its forward earnings, way beyond peers’ average.

Wall Street analysts have given Exelon (EXC) stock a target price of $51.7—compared to its current market price of $50.3.

Exelon (EXC) reported its first-quarter earnings on April 2. The company reported an EPS of $0.87.

Many utility stocks seem to be trading at a large premium compared to the industry average. One of the top gainers, Exelon’s (EXC), stock is trading at 16 times its forward earnings at the moment, lower than peers’ average.

Utility stocks outperformed broader markets last week. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) rose 1.4% while the S&P 500 continued to march higher, rising 1.2%.

Of the 18 analysts tracking American Electric Power (AEP), four recommend “strong buy,” six recommend “buy,” and eight recommend “hold.”

Exelon’s (EXC) payout ratio was 67% in 2018 against its five-year average of 57%.

American Electric Power Company (AEP) stock is currently trading at an all-time high.

In the last five years, American Electric Power (AEP) increased its per share dividend by 5.4% compounded annually.

American Electric Power (AEP) has one of the longest dividend-payment histories among utility giants.

Exelon (EXC) has a median target price of $49.9 for the next 12 months. UBS raised Exelon’s target price from $53.0 to $56.0 last week.

Currently, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) is trading at $58.2 after hitting an all-time high of $58.7 last week.

Wall Street analysts’ price target of $49.74 for Exelon (EXC) implies an upside of just 0.2% based on its current market price of $49.62.

Let’s take a look at utility stocks that received a price target raise last week. We’ll look at Exelon (EXC) first.

In this part of our series, we’ll discuss the institutional ownership in the top utility stocks during the fourth quarter.

In the week ending February 8, the utilities sector outperformed broader markets for the third consecutive week.

PPL’s (PPL) dividend yield is 5.2%, one of the highest among utilities, and its forward PE multiple is 12.7x.

FirstEnergy stock seems to have an attractive valuation. FirstEnergy has a lower valuation multiple than its historical average and peers’ average.

FirstEnergy (FE) stock offers a potential upside of 3% based on analysts’ median target price of $40.4. Currently, FirstEnergy is trading at $39.2.

XLU is trading at $56.46, which is almost 4% and 8% above its 50-day and 200-day moving average levels, respectively.

Exelon (EXC), valued at $45.4 billion, is the fifth-biggest utility by market capitalization.

Top utility stock NextEra Energy (NEE) has an estimated upside of ~6% based on its median target price of $180.40 and its current price of $169.90.

Currently, FirstEnergy stock is trading at a forward PE multiple of 14.8x—lower than peers’ average forward PE multiple of over 17x.

Exelon’s (EXC) EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value-to-EBITDA) multiple is 7.57x.

As of September 20, Duke Energy (DUK) was trading at a dividend yield of 4.6%.

FirstEnergy (FE) stock is currently trading at an EV-to-EBITDA valuation multiple of 8.1x, which is lower than its five-year average of 9.0x.

Exelon (EXC) is currently trading at an enterprise-value-to-EBITDA valuation multiple of 8.0x, which is higher than its five-year average.

Duke Energy (DUK), the second-largest utility by market capitalization, has paid dividends to its shareholders for 368 consecutive quarters.

The Vanguard Group added net 4.1 million shares of Exelon in the first quarter, which took its stake to 7.8%.

FirstEnergy (FE) stock is currently trading at an EV-to-EBITDA valuation multiple of 8.0x, which is lower than its five-year historical average of 9.0x.

NRG Energy (NRG), the leading merchant power player stock and one of the smallest components of the S&P 500 Utilities Index (XLU), has a mean price target of $36.50 against its current market price of $31.20.

FirstEnergy (FE) stock has soared more than 15% in the last three months, significantly outperforming broader utilities (XLU).

Duke Energy is trading at $77.5. Wall Street analysts gave Duke Energy a mean target price of $81.5.

FirstEnergy (FE) stock is currently trading at an EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) valuation of 8.4x.

FirstEnergy (FE) has been one of the top-performing stocks among the S&P 500 Utilities Index (XLU) this year.

Exelon Corporation (EXC) is currently trading at an EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) valuation multiple below 8.0x.

In this series, we’re analyzing analysts’ favorite stocks from the S&P 500 Utilities Index (XLU). We’ll look at Exelon (EXC) in this part.

NRG Energy (NRG) stock has a mean target price of $33.25, which indicates an upside potential of more than 23% for the next 12 months.

Analyst price target According to Wall Street analysts’ consensus, Duke Energy (DUK) stock has a mean price target of $82.30 and a current market price of $77.20, suggesting upside potential of 6.5% in the next 12 months. Among the 18 Wall Street analysts tracking Duke Energy on February 26, 2018, one had recommended “strong buy,” four had recommended “buy,” […]

Exelon Corporation (EXC) is the largest competitive utility in the country. All of the top five institutional investors increased their positions in Exelon in 4Q17.

According to Wall Street analyst consensus, FirstEnergy (FE) stock has a mean price target of $36.20 against its current market price of $32.80.

NextEra Energy, the biggest component of the S&P 500 Utilities, has a mean target price of $165.2, which implies an estimated gain of 4% going forward.

According to analysts’ estimates, NextEra Energy (NEE) will report EPS (earnings per share) of $1.31 for the quarter ended December 31, 2017.

Currently, FirstEnergy (FE) is one of the top-yielding utilities among the S&P 500 Utilities (XLU).

AES (AES), a competitive utility, is trading at a dividend yield of 4.7%—compared to broader utilities’ average yield of 4.4%.

The stock of Exelon Corporation (EXC), the largest hybrid utility and the largest utility by revenue, has a mean price target of $43.2.

While utilities have been on a losing spree lately, competitive utility stock FirstEnergy (FE) seems even weaker. It has lost more than 12% so far this month.

On December 14, 2017, FirstEnergy (FE) stock was trading at an EV-to-EBITDA multiple of 8.5x. Its five-year historical valuation is ~9.5x.

AES (AES) has upside potential of 19% from its current price levels of $10.9. Wall Street analysts have given it a price target of $12.9.

On November 8, FirstEnergy stock was trading at an EV-to-EBITDA valuation multiple of 8.5x. Its five-year historical valuation average is close to 9.0x.

According to Wall Street analysts’ estimates, AES (AES) stock has a mean target price of $12.84—compared to its current market price of $10.51.

AES stock looks to be trading at a discounted valuation compared to its peers. However, it seems to be trading at a fair premium to its historical average.

Exelon (EXC) stock rose 1.4% and reached a 52-week high of $40.81 after the release of its third quarter earnings on November 2, 2017.

The largest utility by revenue in the country, Exelon Corporation (EXC), declared its third quarter financial results on November 2, 2017.

According to Wall Street analysts’ estimates, NextEra Energy (NEE) has a mean price target of $156.80 against its current market price of $153.39.

FirstEnergy stock offers a potential gain of 10% over the next year. The stock has a mean price target of $34.47, compared with its current market price of $31.38.

Although Exelon offers a modest dividend yield of 3.5%—similar to the utility average—its dividend growth over the past five years has fallen 9.6%.

Very few US utility companies (XLU) have recorded positive free cash flows recently. In 2016, Exelon’s (EXC) free cash flow was -$1.4 billion.

Exelon (EXC), the largest competitive utility in the country, has outperformed broader utilities in the past year and is trading at a yield similar to peers.

Very few utility stocks from the S&P 500 Utilities Index (XLU) are currently trading at a fair valuation.

The markets last week were weak due to geopolitical tensions between the United States and North Korea. Utilities fell 0.40%.

American Electric Power (AEP), one of the largest utilities in the country, has declared a dividend of $0.59 per share for the third quarter of 2017.

Exelon Corporation (EXC) stock has been rallying over the last few trading sessions, and it hit a 52-week high of $37.76 on July 21, 2017.

Exelon Corporation, the biggest hybrid utility by market cap in the United States, will report its 2Q17 results on August 2, 2017.

Though FirstEnergy stock currently looks to be trading at a discount, its earnings volatility might make it less attractive for utility investors.

Among the four utility stocks under consideration in this series, FirstEnergy (FE) seems to offer the highest possible upside given analysts’ price targets.

Exelon (EXC) stock has corrected nearly 2% in the last year. Including dividends, its returns have come in at ~3%.

US nuclear generation accounts for 9% of total US capacity. Its share of total power generation last year accounted for nearly 20%.

Over the last five years, five nuclear power plants have shut down their operations, and another six are planning to close by 2025.

FirstEnergy stock has been in a downtrend for several years—which could be why it’s trading at such a deep discount to its historical and industry averages.

Exelon (EXC), the largest nuclear power generator in the US, has warned it could close its Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania if it doesn’t receive state aid.

Hybrid utility stocks are currently offering very attractive potential upsides compared to utilities at large.

Hybrid utility FirstEnergy (FE) is presently trading at one of the highest dividend yields of 4.9%.

Exelon’s (EXC) leverage ratio is about 3.8x. The industry average stands around 3.5x–4.0x.

With a $34 billion market capitalization, Exelon (EXC) is the largest competitive utility.

Exelon (EXC) has outperformed peers in terms of total returns in the last 12 months.

US utilities including giants like Duke Energy (DUK) and Southern Company (SO) have done fairly well in the last few months compared to broader markets.

FirstEnergy (FE) is estimated to report earnings of $0.74 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. For 1Q16, FirstEnergy reported earnings of $0.80 per share.

FirstEnergy (FE) appears to be trading at a fair valuation compared to its peers. Currently, it’s trading at an EV-to-EBITDA ratio of 7.7x.

Utility stocks with high implied volatilities NRG Energy (NRG) rose 33% in the trailing year as of March 17, 2017. It had the highest implied volatility of all the utility companies that make up the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU). In the past five days, NRG Energy rose 1.1%. The above chart shows the […]

Chart indicators As we discussed earlier, Exelon (EXC) has gained more than 11% so far this year, while in the last year, it has managed to rise by just 3%. On March 16, 2017, Exelon was trading 1% and 4% above its 50-DMA (day moving average) and 200-DMA, respectively. Exelon’s chart indicators look stable, and […]

AES stock seems to be trading at a fair valuation compared to the industry average. However, it seems to be trading at a premium to its historical average.

FirstEnergy stock rose 1% and closed at $31.33 on its earnings day. The stock has seen some positive momentum during the last few trading sessions.

On February 15, 2017, NRG Energy had the highest implied volatility among the utility companies that make up the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU).

Exelon has a mean price target of $38.45, as compared to its current market price of $35.23—an estimated one-year upside of ~9%.

Exelon issued a flat to negative earnings outlook for 2017, though its rate base is expected to rise 6.5% annually through 2020.

PPL rose the least in the past year among the list of low implied volatility utility stocks. It announced its 4Q16 financial results on February 1.

According to analysts’ estimates, Exelon (EXC) is expected to report earnings of $0.45 per share in 4Q16. In 4Q15, it posted earnings of $0.38 per share.

Exelon will report its 4Q16 and fiscal 2016 financial results on February 8, 2017. Analysts expect it to report total revenues of $7,488 million for 4Q16.

The FirstEnergy (FE) stock has been trading near its 52-week low for the past several trading sessions, and it has corrected more than 6% in the past month.

On January 11, 2017, NRG Energy had the highest implied volatility among the utility companies that make up the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU).

Duke Energy rallied 9% in 2016, roughly tracking the Utilities Select Sector SPDR. Dominion Resources rose 12% in 2016, while Peer NextEra Energy rose 15%.

Dominion Resources (D) gained 12% in 2016, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) also managed to gain by about the same levels.

US utilities continued to trade higher throughout 2016, despite some severe corrections. But how are these stocks valued at the beginning of 2017?

According to the EIA, average residential electricity usage is expected to rise 4% from December 2016 to March 2017, as compared to one year previously.

Of the total 18 analysts tracking NextEra Energy on December 27, 2016, five recommend it as “strong buy” while 11 recommend it as a “buy.” Two analysts recommend NextEra Energy as a “hold,” and none of the analysts offered a “sell” recommendation.

FirstEnergy’s (FE) dividends fell 13% annually in the last five years. In 2014, FE cut its quarterly dividends from $0.55 per share to $0.36 per share.

Exelon Corporation (EXC) is trading at a dividend yield of 3.5%, and FirstEnergy (FE) is trading at a dividend yield of 4.6%. Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) has a yield of 3.8%.

Exelon Corporation (EXC) had net debt of $34 billion at the end of 3Q16. EXC has a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 4.5x, slightly above the industry average.