Westpac Banking Corp Purchases 6,807 Shares of Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Exelon Corporation by 27.1% in the first quarter, now owning 31,931 shares valued at approximately $1.47 million.
• A variety of investment firms have adjusted their ratings and price targets for Exelon, with targets ranging from $37.00 to $51.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Exelon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with a yield of 3.6% and a payout ratio of 60.84%.

Westpac Banking Corp raised its stake in Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 27.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,931 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,807 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Exelon were worth $1,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 8.3% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 280,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,909,000 after buying an additional 21,382 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 35.9% during the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 138,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,397,000 after buying an additional 36,657 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 37.6% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 358,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,534,000 after buying an additional 98,103 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the first quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 3.2% during the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 20,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Exelon Stock Performance

EXC traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $44.65. The company had a trading volume of 6,822,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,099,713. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $45.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.38. Exelon Corporation has a 12-month low of $35.94 and a 12-month high of $48.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.91.

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

Exelon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Exelon's dividend payout ratio is 60.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Exelon from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Exelon from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Exelon from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.20.

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.