Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $45.20 and last traded at $43.68, with a volume of 9783005 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Exelon Trading Down 1.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.63 and a 200-day moving average of $39.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $43.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of Exelon stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,201,000 after acquiring an additional 14,158 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,624,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,158,000 after acquiring an additional 279,827 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 431.3% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 395,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,051,000 after acquiring an additional 321,333 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,446,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,402,000 after acquiring an additional 123,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,862,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,259 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.