Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Makes New $9.96 Million Investment in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 277,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,957,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Antonetti Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 98.8% in the third quarter. Antonetti Capital Management LLC now owns 805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in Exelon by 50.3% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Exelon during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Exelon by 263.8% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 844 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXC traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.34. The stock had a trading volume of 3,894,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,903,913. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.25. Exelon Co. has a 12-month low of $33.35 and a 12-month high of $43.71. The stock has a market cap of $37.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.54.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.40% and a net margin of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Exelon’s payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on EXC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Exelon from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Exelon from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Guggenheim lowered Exelon from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Bank of America cut their price target on Exelon from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Exelon from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exelon presently has an average 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.