Viking Fund Management LLC Increases Stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 72.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 60,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,500 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $2,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Exelon by 247.5% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Exelon in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 174.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Performance

Exelon stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $34.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,199,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,869,541. The firm has a market cap of $34.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.52. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $33.35 and a twelve month high of $43.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.01). Exelon had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The business had revenue of $6.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.70 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Exelon from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Exelon from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised Exelon from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Exelon from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.91.

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.