Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Short Interest Up 9.0% in June

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,520,000 shares, a growth of 9.0% from the May 31st total of 6,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ED. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,019,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,535,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,201,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $530,373,000 after acquiring an additional 27,850 shares during the period. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 116.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC now owns 73,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,256,000 after acquiring an additional 39,284 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,491,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,548,000 after acquiring an additional 34,887 shares during the period. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ED has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus raised Consolidated Edison to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on Consolidated Edison from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Consolidated Edison from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.27.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ED opened at $88.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.11. Consolidated Edison has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $98.85.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 12.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is currently 63.72%.

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.