Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Price Target Raised to $48.00

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $46.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on EXC. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelon presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.13.

Exelon Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXC opened at $43.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Exelon has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $45.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exelon will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelon

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Exelon by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

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.