Exelon Corporation (EXC), based in Chicago, is one of the largest electric utility companies in the U.S. and Canada. Worth a market cap of $38.2 billion, the company provides energy distribution and transmission services across six regulated utilities: Atlantic City Electric, Baltimore Gas and Electric, Commonwealth Edison, Delmarva Power & Light, PECO Energy, and Potomac Electric Power Company.
Shares of the utility titan have substantially underperformed the broader market over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks, EXC stock has been down 5.2%, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 32.7% returns. In 2024, EXC soared 7.2%, lagging behind SPX’s 21.2% gains over the same time frame.
Zooming in, the company has also struggled to keep up with the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLU) 26.7% returns over the past 52 weeks and 23.7% gains on a YTD basis.
On Oct. 30, EXC released its Q3 earnings, and its shares dropped more than 3% in the subsequent trading sessions, despite surpassing expectations.
Exelon reported an adjusted profit of 71 cents per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of 67 cents. Moroever, revenue totaled $6.15 billion, exceeding the forecasted $6.07 billion. For the full year, Exelon expects earnings to range between $2.40 and $2.50 per share.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect Exelon's EPS to grow 2.9% year over year to $2.45. The company’s earnings surprise history is mixed. It beat the consensus estimate in three of the past four quarters while missing the forecasts on another occasion.
Among the 18 analysts covering the EXC stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That's based on five “Strong Buy” ratings, 12 “Holds,” and one “Strong Sell.”
This configuration is more bullish than two months ago when the four analysts gave the stock a “Strong Buy.”
On Oct. 15, Nicholas Campanella of Barclays PLC (BCS) reiterated a “Buy” rating on Exelon and set a price target of $44.
EXC’s mean price target of $43.33 represents a premium of 12.6% from current price levels. The Street-high target of $47 indicates a potential upside of 22.2%.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
