Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Guggenheim

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports.

EXC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Exelon from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.13.

Exelon Stock Up 0.1 %

EXC stock opened at $39.24 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.09 and a 200-day moving average of $38.32. Exelon has a fifty-two week low of $33.35 and a fifty-two week high of $41.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exelon will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.55%.

Institutional Trading of Exelon

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. American National Bank & Trust increased its position in Exelon by 178.8% during the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelon in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Exelon by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Exelon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.