Argyle Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 47.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,542 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $1,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Exelon by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 295,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,120,000 after acquiring an additional 12,966 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its stake in Exelon by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 54,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Exelon in the fourth quarter worth $4,289,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in Exelon by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 388,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,608,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Exelon by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 155,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,858,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelon

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

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXC opened at $43.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $44.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.99 and a 200 day moving average of $39.27.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its 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 last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Exelon’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

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.