Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Boosts Stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 365,467 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $13,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank grew its position in Exelon by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,201,000 after purchasing an additional 14,158 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Exelon by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,624,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,158,000 after buying an additional 279,827 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Exelon by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 395,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,051,000 after purchasing an additional 321,333 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Exelon by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,446,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,402,000 after purchasing an additional 123,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Exelon by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on EXC shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Exelon Stock Performance

Exelon stock opened at $44.44 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.88. The company has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. Exelon Co. has a 12-month low of $34.01 and a 12-month high of $45.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

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 shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.