Exelon Corp

AES Corporation’s leverage is extremely high compared to those of peers Southern Company (SO), Exelon Corporation (EXC) and PG&E Corporation (PCG).

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 […]

The rush to US utilities despite their already stretched valuations indicates their safe-haven appeal amid global turmoil.

For 4Q14, Exelon’s debt-to-equity ratio was 0.92x. Its operations are fairly underleveraged. It has one of the leanest debt metrics in the power utility industry.

Exelon Corporation (EXC) reported a net income of $440 million in its 2Q14 earnings. The quarterly net income was $14 million lower year-over-year (or YoY).

Dominion Resources (D) depends upon both internal and external sources of financing for its capital expenses and dividend payments.

In the past couple of months, institutions have increased their positions in Exelon by nearly 2%, from 85.6% to 87.2%, as of October 3, 2016.

NextEra Energy (NEE) is trading at a comparatively lower forward dividend yield than its peers. However, it has the highest expected dividend growth in the next two years.

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

American Electric Power (AEP) has an attractive debt profile, with the company’s debt making up just 7% of its consolidated debt.

After the deal, Dynegy’s (DYN) total generation capacity will double to 26 gigawatts (or GW). As a result, Dynegy’s capacity will be at par with the third largest competitive U.S. generator among the independent power producers (or IPPs)—Calpine Corporation (CPN).

US power companies distribute a high percentage of their income to shareholders as dividends. Total returns are a better parameter to evaluate the sector’s performance.

Exelon (EXC) expects that dismal load growth may continue in 2016. This dismal growth could be partially offset by customer base growth.

The three solar projects approved for construction will have a capacity of 128 MW to add to Duke Energy’s total generation capacity.

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.

In the last two years, Exelon has looked to strengthen its utility division via acquisitions. For example, in 2012, Exelon merged with Constellation, adding 1.2 million utility customers.

Currently, NiSource (NI) is trading at a forward dividend yield of 2.7%.

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.

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.

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

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%.

NiSource (NI) reported its 2Q16 earnings on August 2, 2016. It reported net operating earnings of $0.08 per share in the quarter.

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.

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

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 (EXC) is currently trading at a forward dividend yield of 3.6%. Here’s what you need to know.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Exelon Corporation (EXC) reported its third quarter earnings on October 26, 2016. It reported earnings of $0.91 per share for the quarter.

On December 13, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq rose 0.65%, 0.58%, and 0.95%. They closed at record highs.

On November 16, NRG Energy (NRG) had the highest implied volatility among the utility companies that make up the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU).

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.

Of the 41 utilities stocks we track, 30 gained during the week ended July 17. A positive Greek deal cheered markets globally, and dovish comments by the Fed pushed mid-to-long-term bond yields down.

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

Investment-grade bond issuance fell to $26.275 billion last week as compared to $32.35 billion in the previous week.

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 the Wall Street analyst consensus, FirstEnergy has a one-year price target of $36.10. This implies a rise of 8% over the coming one year.

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

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.

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 a 4% and 13% premium to its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, respectively. The strong premium indicates the strength of Exelon stock.

As of June 28, 2016, Dominion Resources is trading at a forward dividend yield of 3.7%. The three-year historical average for its forward dividend yield is 4%.

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

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.

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.

On November 8, NRG Energy (NRG) had the highest implied volatility among the utility companies that make up the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU).

At the end of 2Q16, AEP had total debt of $21.6 billion. Its DE ratio stands at 1.2x, while its debt-to-market-capitalization ratio is 0.7x.

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

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.

Exelon Corporation’s (EXC) power generation assets are spread across 18 states in the U.S. and some parts of Canada. Regional diversity is very important.

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.

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.

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

Duke Energy (DUK) reported a jump of 27.6% year-over-year (or YoY) growth in earnings per share (or EPS) in its 2Q14 results. Favorable weather and a lower effective tax rate strengthened the regulated utilities business.

FirstEnergy (FE) reported its third quarter financial results on November 4, 2016. It reported total operating revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter.

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,” […]

As a group, policymakers seem utterly confused regarding their reading of the economic situation, inflation, and the labor market.

According to analyst estimates, Exelon (EXC) has a one-year price target of $38.20, as compared to its current market price of $32.0.

As of October 3, 2016, the percentage of float held in AES by institutional investors fell more than 8% compared to August 1, 2016.

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

Exelon Corporation’s (EXC) stock has been hammered in the last six years. In 2008, the stock was trading at ~$90 per share. Early this year, the stock was available at less than $27 per share.

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.

On June 26, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for a July 5 referendum to decide whether Greeks want to accept the creditors’ terms.

Flows into investment-grade bond funds were positive for the 15th consecutive week. They saw net inflows of $1.8 billion during the week ending June 22.

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

Chart inspection is the basic form of technical analysis. In technical analysis charts, we can customize the time frames in the charts. We can also identify different trends in different time frames.

Exelon paid the price for aggressively pushing only one segment in its business. Now, it wants to stabilize its earnings. The retail utility business will provide stability.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

In September 2014, the net electricity generation in the US was 338.9 million megawatt-hours. Nearly 89% of the electricity was generated by coal, natural gas, and nuclear sources.

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

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).

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.

US utilities switched their generation from coal to low-emitting natural gas in the last few years. Among our hand-picked hybrid utilities, FirstEnergy (FE) still derives more than 55% of its power from coal.

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%.

Utilities underperformed in 2015 mainly due to the expected interest rate hike environment. So, how will utilities react in 2016?

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.

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

Among large cap utility stocks, Dominion Resources (D) has been the best performing utility stock for the last five years. Dominion’s share price nearly doubled in the last five years.

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.

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

Last week, Southern Company (SO) announced that it will develop a 131 megawatt solar PV project in Georgia. The project will be part of SO’s unregulated operations.

On December 3, 2014, NextEra Energy (NEE) announced that it will buy Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE). The deal is worth $4.3 billion. Hawaiian Electric aims to achieve its renewable energy goals by merging with NextEra Energy.

In fiscal 2008, fuel costs constituted a whopping 57% of NextEra’s total expenses. Remarkably, these costs have been cut by more than 41% since then.

High capex can propel a company’s earnings growth along an upward trajectory, provided the rate of return exceeds the cost of capital.

The Hawaiian electricity market is one of the most lucrative markets in the US. Currently, one out of ten homes in Hawaii uses a rooftop solar power system.