Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Short Interest Down 10.9% in November

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,080,000 shares, a decrease of 10.9% from the November 15th total of 19,170,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Exelon by 5.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 116,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,037,000 after purchasing an additional 6,404 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Exelon by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 4,991 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Exelon by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Exelon by 7.0% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 49,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 779.8% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 4,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 3,743 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of Exelon stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $36.52. The stock had a trading volume of 7,371,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,682,093. Exelon has a twelve month low of $33.35 and a twelve month high of $41.19. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $36.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.89 and its 200 day moving average is $37.86.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.47% and a net margin of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Exelon’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Exelon will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EXC shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Exelon in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.55.

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.