Exelon (EXC) Competitors

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) and Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Which has more risk & volatility, AEP or EXC?

American Electric Power has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exelon has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of AEP or EXC?

75.2% of American Electric Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.9% of Exelon shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Electric Power shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Exelon shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better valuation and earnings, AEP or EXC?

American Electric Power has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Exelon. American Electric Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Exelon, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Electric Power	$19.72B	3.04	$2.97B	$6.84	16.42
Exelon	$23.03B	1.93	$2.46B	$2.63	16.72

Does the media prefer AEP or EXC?

In the previous week, American Electric Power had 1 more articles in the media than Exelon. MarketBeat recorded 33 mentions for American Electric Power and 32 mentions for Exelon. American Electric Power's average media sentiment score of 1.50 beat Exelon's score of 1.47 indicating that American Electric Power is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Electric Power	27 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Exelon	27 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AEP or EXC a better dividend stock?

American Electric Power pays an annual dividend of $3.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Exelon pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. American Electric Power pays out 54.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Exelon pays out 60.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. American Electric Power has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years and Exelon has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Do analysts recommend AEP or EXC?

American Electric Power presently has a consensus target price of $111.29, indicating a potential downside of 0.89%. Exelon has a consensus target price of $47.20, indicating a potential upside of 7.33%. Given Exelon's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Exelon is more favorable than American Electric Power.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Electric Power	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29
Exelon	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Is AEP or EXC more profitable?

American Electric Power has a net margin of 17.68% compared to Exelon's net margin of 11.16%. American Electric Power's return on equity of 11.55% beat Exelon's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Electric Power	17.68%	11.55%	3.11%
Exelon	11.16%	9.85%	2.47%

Summary

American Electric Power beats Exelon on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.