Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Receives $43.38 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.13.

EXC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in Exelon by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Exelon during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelon Price Performance

Exelon stock opened at $44.06 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.23. Exelon has a 12 month low of $34.01 and a 12 month high of $44.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Exelon will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Exelon Company Profile

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.