Financial Survey: Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) vs. Emera (OTCMKTS:EMRAF)

Emera (OTCMKTS:EMRAF) and Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

23.8% of Emera shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.9% of Exelon shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Exelon shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Emera and Exelon’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Emera	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.97	18.18
Exelon	$21.73 billion	1.69	$2.33 billion	$2.32	15.81

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Emera and Exelon, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Emera	0	1	0	0	2.00
Exelon	1	10	3	0	2.14

Emera currently has a consensus target price of $61.00, suggesting a potential upside of 70.77%. Exelon has a consensus target price of $38.83, suggesting a potential upside of 5.84%. Given Emera’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Emera is more favorable than Exelon.

Dividends

Emera pays an annual dividend of $1.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Exelon pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Emera pays out 73.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Exelon pays out 65.5% 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. Exelon has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Exelon is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Emera and Exelon’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Emera	N/A	N/A	N/A
Exelon	10.44%	9.27%	2.36%

Summary

Exelon beats Emera on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Emera

Emera Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity to various customers. The company operates through Florida Electric Utility, Canadian Electric Utilities, Other Electric Utilities, Gas Utilities and Infrastructure, and Other segments. It generates electricity through natural gas, solar, hydroelectricity, coal, and biomass power plants. The company is also involved in the purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of natural gas; and the provision of energy marketing, trading, and other energy asset management services. In addition, it transports re-gasified liquefied natural gas from Saint John, New Brunswick to consumers in the northeastern United States through its 145-kilometer pipeline. As of December 31, 2023, the company's electric utilities served approximately 840,000 customers in West Central Florida; 549,000 customers in Nova Scotia; 134,000 customers in the island of Barbados; 19,000 customers in the Grand Bahama Island; and gas utilities and infrastructure served approximately 490,000 customers across Florida and 540,000 customers in New Mexico. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada.

About Exelon

Exelon Corporation, a utility services holding company, engages in the energy distribution and transmission businesses in the United States and Canada. The company is involved in the purchase and regulated retail sale of electricity and natural gas, transmission and distribution of electricity, and distribution of natural gas to retail customers. It also offers support services, including legal, human resources, information technology, supply management, financial, engineering, customer operations, transmission and distribution planning, asset management, system operations, and power procurement services. It serves distribution utilities, municipalities, and financial institutions, as well as commercial, industrial, governmental, and residential customers. Exelon Corporation was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.