Natixis Advisors L.P. Lowers Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Natixis Advisors L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 50.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 246,792 shares of the company’s stock after selling 247,564 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $8,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Antonetti Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 98.8% during the third quarter. Antonetti Capital Management LLC now owns 805 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Exelon by 50.3% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Exelon in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Exelon during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Exelon from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Exelon from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.83.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of Exelon stock opened at $37.82 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.96. Exelon Co. has a 12-month low of $33.35 and a 12-month high of $43.53. The firm has a market cap of $37.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Exelon’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.52%.

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.