Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Upgraded by Guggenheim to "Buy" Rating

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on EXC. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price target on Exelon from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.13.

Exelon Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $39.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,944,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,958,856. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.32. 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 has a 12 month low of $33.35 and a 12 month high of $41.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Exelon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. Exelon's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Exelon by 109.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,884,282 shares of the company's stock worth $238,608,000 after buying an additional 3,068,309 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Exelon by 418.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,501,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,604 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,782,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Exelon by 212.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,903,482 shares of the company's stock worth $71,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,753 shares during the period. 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.