Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Upgraded to Buy at Guggenheim

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

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank lifted 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 Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Exelon from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.13.

Exelon Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC opened at $39.24 on Thursday. Exelon has a 1 year low of $33.35 and a 1 year high of $41.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.32. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $39.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.55.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.47% and a net margin of 10.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Analysts expect that Exelon will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.87%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

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

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.