Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED – Get Rating) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.25.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ED. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $87.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $78.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lakewood Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $119,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Consolidated Edison by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 284,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,118,000 after acquiring an additional 95,183 shares during the last quarter. Natixis boosted its position in Consolidated Edison by 309.8% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 92,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,796,000 after acquiring an additional 69,765 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 215,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,330,000 after purchasing an additional 20,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.95% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock opened at $90.69 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.37. The company has a market cap of $32.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Consolidated Edison has a 1 year low of $78.10 and a 1 year high of $102.21.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 7.79%. Consolidated Edison’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is currently 69.38%.

About Consolidated Edison

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Consolidated Edison, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the business of regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery. It operates through the following segments: Consolidated Edison Company of New York (CECONY), Orange and Rockland Utilities(O&R), Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses and Con Edison Transmission.