Short Interest in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Expands By 16.6%

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) saw a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,170,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the October 31st total of 16,440,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Exelon Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of EXC traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,605,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,703,683. 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 company has a market cap of $38.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.51 and a 200 day moving average of $37.87. Exelon has a 1 year low of $33.35 and a 1 year high of $41.42.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.47% and a net margin of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Exelon will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Exelon’s payout ratio is currently 62.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EXC shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Exelon in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Exelon by 178.8% in the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Exelon by 646.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Exelon during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in Exelon by 502.7% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.