Exelon Corporation (EXC): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It But Hedge Funds Love It

Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) investors: listen up.

To the average investor, there are many metrics investors can use to analyze the equity markets. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can beat their index-focused peers by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to look at the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of motivations for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if investors understand where to look (learn more here).

Thus, let’s examine the latest info surrounding Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC).

What does the smart money think about Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC)?

At the end of the second quarter, a total of 23 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 5% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group had the largest position in Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC), worth close to $93.5 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. On Citadel Investment Group’s heels is Michael A. Price and Amos Meron of Empyrean Capital Partners, with a $30.9 million position; the fund has 0.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism include Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management, Jonathan Kolatch’s Redwood Capital Management and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.

With a general bullishness amongst the titans, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, initiated the most valuable position in Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC). Citadel Investment Group had 93.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Michael A. Price and Amos Meron’s Empyrean Capital Partners also made a $30.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new EXC positions are Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management, Jonathan Kolatch’s Redwood Capital Management, and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.

What have insiders been doing with Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC). These stocks are NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG), NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI), CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP), Northeast Utilities System (NYSE:NU), and Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE:PEG). All of these stocks are in the diversified utilities industry and their market caps are closest to EXC’s market cap.

Using the results explained by Insider Monkey’s research, average investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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