Blue Trust Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 70.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,946 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 2,307.7% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 380.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.73.

Consolidated Edison Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of ED opened at $105.70 on Wednesday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.85 and a 52 week high of $107.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $36.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $102.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.91.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 12.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.72%.

Consolidated Edison 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.