Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.40

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Exelon has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.2% annually over the last three years. Exelon has a payout ratio of 57.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Exelon to earn $2.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.6%.

Exelon Stock Up 0.5 %

EXC stock opened at $43.39 on Friday. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $39.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.09. The company has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. Exelon has a fifty-two week low of $34.01 and a fifty-two week high of $43.69.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Exelon will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Exelon from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.