Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 212.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,903,482 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,293,753 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.19% of Exelon worth $71,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. American National Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Exelon by 178.8% during the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 697 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Exelon in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Exelon by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Exelon in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Exelon by 92.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,528 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on EXC shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Exelon in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Exelon from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.38.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC traded up $1.32 on Thursday, reaching $39.34. 5,591,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,806,731. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Exelon Co. has a 1-year low of $33.35 and a 1-year high of $41.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.95 and a 200-day moving average of $38.15. The firm has a market cap of $39.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.55.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. Exelon had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 9.47%. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Exelon's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.55%.

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.