Exelon Corporation’s EXC investment plans should further strengthen its transmission and distribution infrastructure and assist in providing reliable services to its customers. Exelon's initiatives in grid modernization are likely to improve the resilience of its operations. Given its growth opportunities, EXC makes for a solid investment option in the utility sector.

Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company a strong investment pick at the moment.

EXC’s Growth Projections & Surprise History

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 1.1% to $2.67 in the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 sales is pinned at $24.11 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of 4.7%.

Exelon's long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 6.42%. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 10.1%.

EXC’s Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing its funds to generate higher returns. Currently, Exelon’s ROE is 10.29%, higher than the sector’s average of 10.2%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing its shareholders' funds more constructively (to generate income) than its peers in the electric power utility industry.

EXC’s Dividend Growth

Exelon’s stable performance and cash flows allow it to reward its shareholders through continuous dividend payments. Currently, its quarterly dividend is 40 cents per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.60.

The company aims to increase dividend per share at the low end of its targeted 5-7% range annually through 2028, subject to approval of its board of directors. Exelon is projecting a long-term dividend payout ratio of 60%, which is in sync with the long-term dividend growth target. Its current dividend yield is 3.79%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite's average of 1.54%.

EXC’s Solvency

The time-to-interest earned ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2024 was 2.5. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.

EXC’s Focus on Strategic Investments

Exelon invests substantially in infrastructure projects and plans to invest nearly $38 billion during 2025-2028 in regulated utility operations. The capital expenditure will be utilized to support customer needs and grid reliability. The company is set to invest $21.7 billion in electric distribution, $12.6 billion in electric transmission and $3.8 billion in gas delivery in the 2025-2028 period.

Story Continues

EXC’s Share Price Performance

In the past six months, the stock has returned 10.7% compared with the industry’s growth of 0.2%.Zacks Investment Research

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Other Stocks to Consider

A few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are DTE Energy DTE, Evergy EVRG and CenterPoint Energy CNP, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

DTE’s long-term earnings growth rate is 7.64%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS implies an improvement of 6% from the bottom line recorded in 2024.

EVRG’s long-term earnings growth rate is 5.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS implies an improvement of 5.8% from the bottom line recorded in 2024.

CNP’s long-term earnings growth rate is 7.76%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 8%.

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Exelon Corporation (EXC):Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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