Cars and Drivers

5 Companies Beyond Tesla That Will Win in the Electric Vehicle Craze

Lee Jackson

Published: August 22, 2017 9:45 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 8:55 am

The electric vehicle (EV) has been the dream of futurists for years, and the reality is that, despite the logistics of changing an entire world to the EV model, it is probably coming sooner rather than later. A big positive of course, is the fact that emissions from internal combustion engines that require gasoline are a source of air pollution. But another huge factor for EVs is that overall energy costs and maintenance costs are lower.

In a new research report, the analysts at JPMorgan make the case that while some sectors could be hurt by the shift to EVs, others could be beneficiaries in a big way. The report focused on European companies, and didn’t really dive into the merits of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), which the firm actually has rated at Underweight. We cross-referenced the sectors the analysts are positive on for American companies that should benefit that are rated Overweight at JPMorgan.

Utilities

Needless to say, EVs will require electricity, and the big U.S. companies can certainly deliver plenty of that.

Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) is a top utility stock that makes good sense now for conservative accounts. It is one of the nation’s leading competitive energy providers, with 2014 revenues of approximately $27.4 billion. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon does business in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. It is one of the largest competitive U.S. power generators, with approximately 32,500 megawatts of owned capacity, comprising one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets.

The company’s Constellation business unit provides energy products and services to more than 2.5 million residential, public sector and business customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100. Exelon’s utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to more than 7.8 million customers in central Maryland, northern Illinois and southeastern Pennsylvania.

Exelon shares have traded sideways this year and are offering a great entry point. Investors receive a 3.45% dividend. The JPMorgan price target on the stock is $39. The Wall Street consensus target is $40.69. The stock closed Monday at $37.96.

PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) is a top utility that investors can still feel super comfortable owning now. It is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers energy to nearly 16 million people in northern and central California. The company operates 141,215 circuit miles of electric distribution lines, 18,616 circuit miles of interconnected transmission lines, 42,141 miles of natural gas distribution pipelines and 6,438 miles of gas transportation pipelines. It operates generation facilities with energy sources such as nuclear, hydroelectric, fossil fuel-fired and photovoltaic.

PG&E announced a clean fuel rebate of $500 that started in the spring. The rebate is a bonus for using electricity as a clean transportation fuel, and eligible electric vehicle owners can receive one rebate per owned or leased EV.

Shares are up a solid 12% this year. PG&E shareholders are paid a 3.06% dividend. The JPMorgan price target of $73 is above the consensus target of $70.28. Shares closed trading on Monday at $69.35.

Mining

The analysts expect bigger demand for copper, aluminum and metals for cobalt lithium batteries in EV vehicles.

The JPMorgan team is bullish on aluminum and recently raised Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) to an Overweight rating. The company is a producer of primary aluminum and operates aluminum reduction facilities, or smelters, in the United States and Iceland. It operates through primary aluminum segment. Its primary aluminum facilities produce standard grade primary aluminum products.

The JPMorgan analysts noted this in a recent report on Century Aluminum:

We rate shares of Century Aluminum Overweight as we see significant upside to the stock’s current share price given our constructive view on aluminum. We have strong conviction that China will be successful in its supply-side reform to close smelter capacity with the national and local governments working together to implement the program. Additionally, during the winter heating season, pollution-related production restrictions should also help the supply and demand balance.

The $22 JPMorgan price target compares with a consensus target of $15, as well as the closing price on Monday at $16.16.

Semiconductors

The analysts noted in the report that the average EV uses two to three times the dollar value of semiconductors compared to the traditional internal combustion vehicle.

Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM) also supplies some chips to Samsung for the Galaxy line. It designs, develops, manufactures and markets various linear and mixed-signal integrated circuits worldwide. The company also provides a range of high-frequency process technologies and capabilities for use in custom designs. It primarily serves automotive, communications and data center, computing, consumer and industrial markets.

Top analysts feel that Maxim stands poised to benefit with its Power Management and SERDES content as autonomous cars require leading power efficiency and data distribution. Moreover, the company should see a linear benefit with additional content needed for greater levels of autonomous-driving features in future generations of automobiles including EV’s.

Maxim shareholders are paid a solid 3.3% dividend. JPMorgan has set its price objective for the shares at $52. The consensus target price is $47.91, and the stock closed trading Monday at $43.71 a share.

24/7 Wall St.
13 Cars That Compete With the Tesla Model 3

ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ON) is a smaller cap play that aggressive accounts may want to look at. It is a vendor of analog power management, analog signal conditioning, standard logic integrated circuits (ICs) and discrete chips into the automotive, communications, computing, consumer, industrial and medical applications. The company is in the midst of a transformation from a seller of commodity discrete chips into higher value added analog ICs both through organic growth and acquisitions.

The company holds a leadership position in automotive image sensors and could be a very attractive takeover candidate for a larger chip company looking to expand in its presence in automotive via EV and autonomous driving applications.

The JPMorgan price target is posted at $17. The consensus target is higher at $19.24. The shares closed trading Monday at $15.75.

Many expect the EV market to dominate by as early as 2035, and while that is still quite a few years in the future, there is every reason to believe that timeline could speed up, especially in Europe where some mandates are already being set.