Sciencast Management LP Buys New Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 38,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,461,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exelon by 2.2% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Exelon by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its stake in Exelon by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 25,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in Exelon by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 7,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Exelon by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut 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, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Exelon from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Exelon from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Exelon from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.91.

Exelon Stock Performance

Exelon stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.24. 8,292,799 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,941,854. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.52. Exelon Co. has a 1 year low of $33.35 and a 1 year high of $43.53.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. Exelon had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 9.27%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Exelon’s payout ratio is currently 65.52%.

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.