Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Stock Price Down 2%

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) dropped 2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $100.95 and last traded at $101.32. Approximately 169,079 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,841,982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ED. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Argus raised Consolidated Edison to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.65.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $99.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.46.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.72%.

Institutional Trading of Consolidated Edison

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ED. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 2,307.7% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.