Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Short Interest Update

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,540,000 shares, a decline of 17.0% from the March 15th total of 21,130,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Exelon Stock Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:EXC traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,381,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,240,251. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.50 and a 200-day moving average of $40.90. Exelon has a 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $48.11.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Exelon had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Exelon will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Exelon's payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of Exelon stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelon

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stiles Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Exelon in the first quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 158,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,319,000 after purchasing an additional 9,236 shares during the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Exelon by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. now owns 10,131 shares of the company's stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Exelon during the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Exelon in the first quarter valued at about $207,000. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.63.

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.