National Bank of Canada FI Trims Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 45.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 592,902 shares of the company’s stock after selling 503,370 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Exelon were worth $22,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its position in Exelon by 247.5% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Exelon during the first quarter worth about $26,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Exelon by 174.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXC traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $36.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,102,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,840,904. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.19. The firm has a market cap of $36.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.03. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $33.35 and a twelve month high of $43.53.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.70 billion. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 10.44%. Research analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Exelon from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Exelon from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Exelon from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Exelon from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelon presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.09.

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.