Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $44.26 and last traded at $44.06, with a volume of 11507104 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EXC shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded Exelon from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Exelon Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Exelon's payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Exelon by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 127,335,351 shares of the company's stock worth $4,792,903,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064,673 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Exelon by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company's stock worth $2,439,862,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,259 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Exelon by 37.2% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 7,483,873 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Exelon by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,314,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $988,080,000 after buying an additional 368,505 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Exelon by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 24,662,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $928,277,000 after buying an additional 653,627 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.