Exelon Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:EXC)

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 3,579 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 53% compared to the average daily volume of 2,332 put options.

Exelon Stock Performance

EXC opened at $46.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $46.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.04. Exelon has a 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $48.11.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 earned $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Exelon will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 3.46%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EXC. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim set a $47.00 price objective on Exelon and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $48.00 price objective (up from $46.00) on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.78.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 made changes to their positions in EXC. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Exelon by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,201,000 after acquiring an additional 14,158 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Exelon by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,624,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,158,000 after purchasing an additional 279,827 shares during the period. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,274,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Exelon by 3.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,159,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,029,000 after purchasing an additional 36,734 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Exelon by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 22,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.