Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC)

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on EXC. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Exelon from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Exelon from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $40.83.

Exelon Trading Up 2.5 %

Exelon stock opened at $40.27 on Thursday. Exelon has a 1 year low of $33.35 and a 1 year high of $41.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.83 and its 200-day moving average is $37.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.98 billion. Exelon had a net margin of 10.65% and a return on equity of 9.40%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Exelon will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXC. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelon in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Exelon in the second quarter valued at $57,000. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelon during the 2nd quarter valued at $698,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 649.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 31,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.