Morgan Stanley Boosts Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Price Target to $45.00

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EXC. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Exelon in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.08.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXC opened at $40.38 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $40.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53. Exelon has a 52-week low of $33.35 and a 52-week high of $41.48.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Exelon will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the second quarter worth $1,215,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the second quarter worth $57,000. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the second quarter worth $698,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 649.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 4,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 1.5% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 31,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,096,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

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.