Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Has Announced A Dividend Of US$0.38

Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC) will pay a dividend of US$0.38 on the 10th of December. This means the dividend yield will be fairly typical at 2.8%.

Check out our latest analysis for Exelon

Exelon's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

Unless the payments are sustainable, the dividend yield doesn't mean too much. Prior to this announcement, the dividend made up 154% of earnings, and the company was generating negative free cash flows. Paying out such a large dividend compared to earnings while also not generating any free cash flow would definitely be difficult to keep up.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 193.5% over the next year. Under the assumption that the dividend will continue along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 54% which would be quite comfortable going to take the dividend forward.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2011, the first annual payment was US$2.10, compared to the most recent full-year payment of US$1.53. This works out to be a decline of approximately 3.1% per year over that time. Generally, we don't like to see a dividend that has been declining over time as this can degrade shareholders' returns and indicate that the company may be running into problems.

Dividend Growth Is Doubtful

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. Over the past five years, it looks as though Exelon's EPS has declined at around 7.9% a year. A modest decline in earnings isn't great, and it makes it quite unlikely that the dividend will grow in the future unless that trend can be reversed. It's not all bad news though, as the earnings are predicted to rise over the next 12 months - we would just be a bit cautious until this can turn into a longer term trend.

We're Not Big Fans Of Exelon's Dividend

Overall, this isn't a great candidate as an income investment, even though the dividend was stable this year. The company's earnings aren't high enough to be making such big distributions, and it isn't backed up by strong growth or consistency either. Overall, the dividend is not reliable enough to make this a good income stock.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. To that end, Exelon has 4 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high performing dividend stock.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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