Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $46.20 and last traded at $45.61, with a volume of 1098742 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on EXC. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.13.

Exelon Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $46.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.15.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of Exelon stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXC. Czech National Bank increased its position in Exelon by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,201,000 after purchasing an additional 14,158 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 279,827 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 431.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,439,862,000 after buying an additional 2,156,259 shares during the period. Finally, Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Exelon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,274,000. 80.92% of the stock is currently 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.