Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Position in Exelon Corporation $EXC

Key Points

• Franklin Resources trimmed its stake in Exelon by 10.4% in Q3, selling 691,931 shares and now holds 5,937,916 shares (about 0.59%) valued at roughly $267.3 million.
• Exelon beat quarterly EPS expectations ($0.59 vs. $0.55), set FY2026 guidance of 2.810–2.910 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (annualized $1.68) for a ~3.4% yield.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.93, amid recent divergent moves such as JPMorgan and Mizuho raising targets while Wolfe cut its rating.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in shares of Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 10.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,937,916 shares of the company's stock after selling 691,931 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.59% of Exelon worth $267,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 210.8% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 578 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelon during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelon during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Exelon during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Motco lifted its position in Exelon by 1,008.7% in the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 765 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research lowered Exelon from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Exelon from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Exelon from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Exelon from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.93.

Exelon Price Performance

EXC opened at $49.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $46.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.38. The firm has a market cap of $50.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45. Exelon Corporation has a 1 year low of $41.71 and a 1 year high of $49.88.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.04. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.97% and a net margin of 11.41%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Exelon has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.810-2.910 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Exelon Corporation will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Exelon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.

Exelon Profile

Exelon Corporation NASDAQ: EXC is a Chicago-based energy company that operates primarily as a regulated electric and natural gas utility holding company. The company's businesses focus on the delivery of electricity and related services to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as investments in grid modernization, customer energy solutions and demand-side programs. Exelon's operations emphasize reliable service delivery, infrastructure maintenance and regulatory compliance across its utility footprint.

Formed in 2000 through the merger of Unicom and PECO Energy, Exelon historically combined generation and regulated utility businesses.

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