53,000 Shares in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Acquired by Hartree Partners LP

Hartree Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 53,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Exelon in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Exelon by 119.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXC opened at $44.71 on Friday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $34.01 and a one year high of $45.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.14. The company has a market capitalization of $45.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 posted $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.13.

Exelon 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.