Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Increases Stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,499 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 119.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 80.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Exelon Price Performance

EXC stock opened at $44.42 on Wednesday. Exelon Co. has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $45.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.