Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Short Interest Down 17.0% in March

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,540,000 shares, a decline of 17.0% from the March 15th total of 21,130,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 8,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Exelon Stock Up 2.3 %

Exelon stock traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.30. 2,027,946 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,211,550. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $47.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. Exelon has a 12 month low of $34.01 and a 12 month high of $48.11.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Exelon will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXC. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upped 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, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $48.00 price objective (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelon has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.63.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of Exelon stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position 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. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Exelon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.