Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.50.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ED. Mizuho boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock opened at $100.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.98. Consolidated Edison has a one year low of $85.85 and a one year high of $107.75.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 8.62%. Research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.89%.

Institutional Trading of Consolidated Edison

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,455,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,788,319,000 after purchasing an additional 488,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,429,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,439,684,000 after purchasing an additional 399,034 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,984,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,684,000 after purchasing an additional 130,234 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,820,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $430,129,000 after purchasing an additional 271,088 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth $399,824,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.