Traders Purchase High Volume of Exelon Call Options (NASDAQ:EXC)

Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 4,662 call options on the company. This is an increase of 175% compared to the typical volume of 1,695 call options.

Exelon Trading Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ:EXC traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,542,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,809,794. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.01. Exelon has a 1 year low of $33.35 and a 1 year high of $41.48.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.07. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.40% and a net margin of 10.65%. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Exelon will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is 65.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Exelon from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Exelon from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Exelon from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelon

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelon during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Exelon by 247.5% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Exelon during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Exelon by 646.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Exelon in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.