Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Shares Up 2.9% – Here’s Why

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) traded up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $44.03 and last traded at $44.02. 3,203,320 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 7,417,182 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on EXC. Barclays upped their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

Exelon Stock Up 1.0 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Exelon’s payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at $479,597,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Exelon by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,618,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,483,873 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Exelon by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,306,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,422,000 after purchasing an additional 5,524,103 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Exelon by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,846,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,525,000 after purchasing an additional 3,878,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Exelon by 109.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,884,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,608,000 after buying an additional 3,068,309 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.