Haverford Trust Co Acquires 897 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Haverford Trust Co increased its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,178 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Exelon were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EXC. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in Exelon by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Exelon by 119.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of EXC opened at $42.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $43.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.19 and its 200 day moving average is $40.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Exelon Co. has a 12-month low of $34.01 and a 12-month high of $45.20.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Exelon had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

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.