Merit Financial Group LLC Has $367,000 Stock Holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,540,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 112,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,222,000 after buying an additional 7,418 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter worth $274,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 18,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 2,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 53,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,882,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock opened at $97.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $90.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.28. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.08.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.26. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 8.79%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.31 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ED. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

Consolidated Edison Company Profile

Consolidated Edison, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. It offers electric services to approximately 3.7 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,530 customers in parts of Manhattan.