Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.40.

EXC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Exelon from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Exelon from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

Exelon Stock Up 1.7%

EXC stock opened at $42.92 on Wednesday. Exelon has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $48.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $43.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.14.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.06. Exelon had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 9.52%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Exelon will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Exelon’s payout ratio is 59.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Exelon by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 22,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at $5,953,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 109.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,884,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068,309 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 89.1% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 5,539 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is currently 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.