Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $44.26 and last traded at $44.06, with a volume of 11507104 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EXC. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.13.

Exelon Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $44.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 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 last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXC. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Exelon during the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.