Argyle Capital Management LLC Acquires 10,100 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Argyle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 47.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,542 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $1,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in Exelon by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelon during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Exelon by 119.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on EXC. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Exelon Trading Down 0.5 %

EXC stock opened at $43.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. Exelon Co. has a one year low of $34.01 and a one year high of $44.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.27.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued 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 net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

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.