Short Interest in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Declines By 10.9%

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,080,000 shares, a decline of 10.9% from the November 15th total of 19,170,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 6,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Exelon Stock Up 0.8 %

Exelon stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.52. The stock had a trading volume of 7,371,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,682,093. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.54. Exelon has a one year low of $33.35 and a one year high of $41.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.86.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. Exelon had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 9.47%. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Exelon will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Exelon from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Exelon in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelon presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXC. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Exelon by 431.3% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 395,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,051,000 after acquiring an additional 321,333 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exelon by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,446,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,402,000 after buying an additional 123,466 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden boosted its position in shares of Exelon by 56.4% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 138,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,780,000 after purchasing an additional 49,800 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,439,862,000 after buying an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in Exelon by 19.0% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 140,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,865,000 after acquiring an additional 22,463 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.