Constellation Energy Stock Has Doubled in a Year. It's Rising Now Despite Earnings Miss. -- Barrons.com

By Emily Dattilo

Constellation Energy stock was rising sharply as investors shrugged off a quarterly loss and focused on strong guidance and a dividend boost.

Shares of the producer of carbon-free energy gained 12% to $149.59 in Tuesday trading, putting them on track for their largest increase since July 28, 2022, when they gained 16%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Over the past 12 months, the stock has soared about 100%. The S&P 500 was down 0.1% on Tuesday.

For the full-year 2024, Constellation said it expects adjusted earnings of between $7.23 and $8.03 a share, topping Wall Street's forecast for $6.51, according to FactSet. The company is also calling for long-term base per-share earnings growth of at least 10% through the decade "backstopped by the nuclear production tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and effective deployment of our strong free cash flow generation," the company said.

In the release, Constellation highlighted "growth fueled by customer demand," and management shared enthusiastic commentary about the company's future.

"The most valuable commodity in the world today remains clean energy that can be depended on in every hour of every day, and no U.S. company is better positioned to deliver on that promise than Constellation, which has more clean, reliable nuclear capacity than all other U.S. competitive generators combined," CEO Joe Dominguez said.

Constellation also announced plans to grow its dividend per share by 25%, passing the company's dividend growth target of at least 10% annually. Its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3525 a share on common stock payable on March 19.

The company also completed its first $1 billion stock repurchase plan last year, and in December, the board approved another $1 billion repurchase.

All of that good news overshadowed a tough quarter. Constellation reported a per-share loss while Wall Street expected a profit, and it also missed sales expectations.

Write to Emily Dattilo at emily.dattilo@dowjones.com

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February 27, 2024 12:59 ET (17:59 GMT)

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