Wesbanco Bank Inc. Decreases Position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. decreased its position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ED. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth about $30,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 189.5% during the 3rd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ED has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.64.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock opened at $90.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.85 and a 12 month high of $107.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $93.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.98.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.12. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.52%.

About Consolidated Edison

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.