Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Holdings in Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Exelon Corporation by 21.9%, selling 31,391 shares and now holding 111,945 shares worth approximately $5.16 million.
• Exelon recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.6% and a payout ratio of 60.84%.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.39 for the most recent quarter, beating expectations, while quarterly revenue was $5.43 billion, slightly below estimates.

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in shares of Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 21.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,945 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,391 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Exelon were worth $5,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Exelon by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 39,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,802,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Exelon by 46.4% during the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 694 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Exelon by 0.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 33,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Exelon by 2.4% in the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 9,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Centre Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.2% during the first quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 7,584 shares of the company's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $48.00 target price (up previously from $47.00) on shares of Exelon in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Exelon from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Exelon from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.20.

Exelon Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ EXC traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.32. 3,803,099 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,082,460. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.38. Exelon Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.94 and a 52-week high of $48.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $43.44 and its 200-day moving average is $43.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. Exelon had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Analysts expect that Exelon Corporation will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Exelon's dividend payout ratio is 60.84%.

Exelon 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.