Exelon (EXC) Competitors

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

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 3.6%. Exelon pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. American Electric Power pays out 71.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Exelon pays out 59.5% 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 raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years and Exelon has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Exelon is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals & insiders 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 insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Exelon shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer AEP or EXC?

In the previous week, American Electric Power had 10 more articles in the media than Exelon. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for American Electric Power and 17 mentions for Exelon. Exelon's average media sentiment score of 1.27 beat American Electric Power's score of 1.26 indicating that Exelon is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Electric Power	21 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Exelon	14 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer AEP or EXC?

American Electric Power currently has a consensus price target of $108.31, suggesting a potential upside of 3.97%. Exelon has a consensus price target of $47.40, suggesting a potential upside of 9.80%. Given Exelon's higher possible upside, analysts plainly 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)	7 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.31
Exelon	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.30

Which has more risk & volatility, AEP or EXC?

American Electric Power has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exelon has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AEP or EXC more profitable?

American Electric Power has a net margin of 13.73% compared to Exelon's net margin of 11.44%. American Electric Power's return on equity of 11.68% beat Exelon's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Electric Power	13.73%	11.68%	3.08%
Exelon	11.44%	10.29%	2.58%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, AEP or EXC?

American Electric Power has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Exelon. Exelon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Electric Power, 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	2.82	$2.97B	$5.19	20.07
Exelon	$23.03B	1.89	$2.46B	$2.69	16.05

Summary

American Electric Power beats Exelon on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.