Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $46.00 to $48.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on EXC. Evercore ISI raised shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.63.

Exelon Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXC traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $44.37. 1,188,877 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,204,815. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Exelon has a 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $45.20. The company has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.88.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Exelon had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Exelon will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 10.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 8.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 20.8% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 39,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 6,789 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 16.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

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.