Short Interest in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Expands By 16.6%

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,170,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the October 31st total of 16,440,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 6,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on EXC shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Exelon in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Exelon from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Exelon from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Exelon by 646.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Exelon in the second quarter valued at $28,000. American National Bank & Trust raised its stake in Exelon by 178.8% during the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 502.7% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelon in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exelon Stock Down 0.6 %

Exelon stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.14. 6,605,821 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,703,683. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.87. Exelon has a 1-year low of $33.35 and a 1-year high of $41.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $38.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.54.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. Exelon had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 9.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Exelon will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.55%.

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.