Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $42.00. The stock had previously closed at $38.77, but opened at $39.67. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Exelon shares last traded at $38.03, with a volume of 613,427 shares.

EXC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Exelon from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Exelon from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Exelon from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter worth $216,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Exelon by 3,481.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,695,000 after buying an additional 776,997 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Exelon by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 24,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 6,663 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 3,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 31,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.07. Exelon had a net margin of 10.65% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The company had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.52%.

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.