Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

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

Exelon Price Performance

EXC stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading 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 52-week low of $33.35 and a 52-week 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.86. The company has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Exelon Announces Dividend

The company 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 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. American National Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Exelon by 178.8% in the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Exelon in the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Exelon in the second quarter valued at $57,000. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.