Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Stock Price Up 2.9% - What's Next?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelon presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.13.

Exelon Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a market cap of $45.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Exelon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,201,000 after buying an additional 14,158 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Exelon by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,624,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,158,000 after purchasing an additional 279,827 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 395,840 shares of the company's stock worth $16,051,000 after purchasing an additional 321,333 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company's stock worth $2,439,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at $2,274,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company's stock.

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.