Exelon Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:EXC)

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 8,339 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 156% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,252 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Exelon from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Exelon from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Exelon from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Exelon from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Exelon from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.09.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Exelon by 247.5% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Exelon during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Antonetti Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Exelon by 98.8% during the 3rd quarter. Antonetti Capital Management LLC now owns 805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Exelon by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Exelon during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of Exelon stock opened at $37.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.11. Exelon has a one year low of $33.35 and a one year high of $43.71.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.40% and a net margin of 10.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Exelon will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. Exelon’s payout ratio is 65.24%.

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.