Exelon Corp Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (EXC)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Exelon (NYSE:EXC) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B- . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 0.0%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 24.0%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.89, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels. Although the company had a strong debt-to-equity ratio, its quick ratio of 0.79 is somewhat weak and could be cause for future problems.
• Net operating cash flow has declined marginally to $1,828.00 million or 3.99% when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite a decrease in cash flow of 3.99%, EXELON CORP is in line with the industry average cash flow growth rate of -5.36%.
• The share price of EXELON CORP has not done very well: it is down 22.99% and has underperformed the S&P 500, in part reflecting the company's sharply declining earnings per share when compared to the year-earlier quarter. Despite the stock's decline during the last year, it is still somewhat more expensive (in proportion to its earnings over the last year) than most other stocks in its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays offset this slight negative.
• EXELON CORP has exprienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share have declined over the last two years. We anticipate that this should continue in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, EXELON CORP reported lower earnings of $3.75 versus $3.86 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 26.7% in earnings ($2.75 versus $3.75).

Exelon Corporation, a utility services holding company, engages in the energy generation and distribution business in the United States. Exelon has a market cap of $27.32 billion and is part of the utilities sector and utilities industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 9.6, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are down 26.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

You can view the full Exelon Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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