Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $42.00. The stock had previously closed at $38.77, but opened at $39.67. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Exelon shares last traded at $38.03, with a volume of 613,427 shares traded.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Exelon from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Exelon from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Exelon from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Exelon by 247.5% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Exelon during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Exelon during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $37.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.28.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.07. Exelon had a net margin of 10.65% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The company had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. 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.