Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) Price Target Lowered to $44.00 at Morgan Stanley

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $46.00 to $44.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Exelon from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Exelon in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Exelon from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Exelon currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.25.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXC opened at $39.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Exelon has a 1-year low of $33.35 and a 1-year high of $41.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.61 and its 200 day moving average is $37.84.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.47% and a net margin of 10.60%. Exelon’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exelon will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Exelon by 3.5% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Exelon by 1.0% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 28,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Exelon by 2.0% in the second quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 14,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Exelon by 2.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Exelon by 3.3% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.