Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC)

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 8,339 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 156% compared to the average daily volume of 3,252 call options.

Exelon Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.09. 1,751,373 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,636,537. Exelon has a 1-year low of $33.35 and a 1-year high of $43.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $37.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.54.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. Exelon had a net margin of 10.72% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Exelon’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Exelon will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Exelon’s payout ratio is currently 65.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Exelon from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Exelon from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Exelon from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Exelon from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.09.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Exelon by 85.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 192,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,895,000 after purchasing an additional 88,614 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Exelon by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 464,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,660,000 after buying an additional 91,088 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Exelon by 12.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,069,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,538,000 after buying an additional 1,092,736 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Exelon in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,418,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,001,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Company 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.