National Pension Service Purchases 66,245 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,246,848 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,245 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Exelon were worth $80,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EXC. Antonetti Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Exelon by 98.8% during the 3rd quarter. Antonetti Capital Management LLC now owns 805 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 50.3% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Exelon during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Exelon in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Exelon in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC traded up $0.36 on Thursday, hitting $38.18. 1,931,809 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,534,962. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.97. Exelon Co. has a 1-year low of $33.35 and a 1-year high of $43.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXC. Mizuho upgraded Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $39.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Exelon from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Exelon from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Exelon from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelon has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.83.

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.