Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $46.00 to $48.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.19% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on EXC. Evercore ISI raised shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.63.

Exelon Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC traded down $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $44.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,188,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,204,815. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.88. Exelon has a 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $45.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Exelon will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,201,000 after buying an additional 14,158 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 279,827 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Exelon by 431.3% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 395,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,051,000 after purchasing an additional 321,333 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Exelon by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,446,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,402,000 after purchasing an additional 123,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Exelon by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,439,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.