Short Interest in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Declines By 17.0%

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,540,000 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the March 15th total of 21,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelon

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Exelon by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.15. 1,340,381 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,287,692. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. Exelon has a 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $48.11. The company has a market cap of $46.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.99.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Exelon will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. This is an increase from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Exelon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Exelon and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and set a $48.00 price objective (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelon presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.78.

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.