Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Exelon Corporation by 98.2%, acquiring 50,425 shares to hold a total of 101,750 shares worth approximately $4.69 million.
• Exelon recently reported earnings of $0.92 per share for the quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 11.1% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.62%, set to be paid on September 15th.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 98.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 101,750 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,425 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Exelon were worth $4,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Exelon by 46.4% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 694 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Exelon Price Performance

EXC stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,211,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,201,512. The company's 50 day moving average is $43.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.56. Exelon Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.94 and a fifty-two week high of $48.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $45.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.38.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Exelon Corporation will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Exelon's dividend payout ratio is 59.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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 shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.