Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Raises Dividend to $0.40 Per Share

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Exelon has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.2% annually over the last three years. Exelon has a dividend payout ratio of 54.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Exelon to earn $2.63 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.8%.

Exelon Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC traded up $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $42.97. 7,561,791 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,660,225. The company has a market cap of $43.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.84. Exelon has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $43.45.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.47% and a net margin of 10.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Exelon will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Exelon from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.38.

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.