Potomac Electric Pow (NYSE: POM) was downgraded by Zacks from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. They currently have a $19.00 price target on the stock.

Zacks‘ analyst wrote, “We have lowered our recommendation on Pepco Holdings to Underperform from Neutral as its performance in the fourth quarter and full year were lower-than-expected primarily due to lower retail energy supply and a challenging energy services market. Besides, decisions on some rate cases in 2012 were disappointing. Pepco Holdings still has a few pending rate cases and, since the outcome of the same is uncertain, visibility on 2013 performance is low. The company decided to invest $5.9 billion in the electric system over the next five years to better serve its customers. However, if the company fails to recover the same through constructive regulatory outcomes, future growth investment of the company might be jeopardized.”

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Analysts at Wellington Shields raised their price target on shares of Potomac Electric Pow from $19.00 to $19.25 in a research note to investors on Friday, March 15th. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at ISI Group cut their price target on shares of Potomac Electric Pow from $20.75 to $18.50 in a research note to investors on Friday, January 11th. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded shares of Potomac Electric Pow from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note to investors on Friday, January 11th. They now have a $20.50 price target on the stock, down previously from $23.00.

One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Potomac Electric Pow has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.66.

Potomac Electric Pow (NYSE: POM) traded down 0.05% on Friday, hitting $20.62. Potomac Electric Pow has a 1-year low of $20.58 and a 1-year high of $20.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $20.7. The company has a market cap of $4.744 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64.

Potomac Electric Pow (NYSE: POM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 1st. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. Potomac Electric Pow’s revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Potomac Electric Pow will post $1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: POM) is a diversified energy company. The Company through its operating subsidiaries, is engaged primarily in two businesses: The distribution, transmission and default supply of electricity and the delivery and supply of natural gas (Power Delivery), conducted through Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco), Delmarva Power & Light Company (DPL) and Atlantic City Electric Company (ACE), and competitive energy generation, marketing and supply (Competitive Energy) conducted through subsidiaries of Conectiv Energy Holding Company (collectively Conectiv Energy) and Pepco Energy Services, Inc.

To view Zacks’ full report, visit www.zacks.com

Get Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades via Email - Stay on top of analysts' coverage with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter that provides a concise list of analysts' upgrades and downgrades. Click here to register now.