Short Interest in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Drops By 10.9%

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,080,000 shares, a decline of 10.9% from the November 15th total of 19,170,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 6,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Exelon in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.55.

Exelon Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC traded up $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.52. The company had a trading volume of 7,371,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,682,092. The stock has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.87. Exelon has a one year low of $33.35 and a one year high of $41.19.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Exelon’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exelon will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Exelon’s payout ratio is presently 62.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Exelon by 1.0% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 28,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC grew its holdings in Exelon by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 14,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Exelon by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exelon by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 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.