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

Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.73.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ED shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Consolidated Edison Stock Down 2.2 %

ED stock opened at $104.60 on Friday. Consolidated Edison has a twelve month low of $85.85 and a twelve month high of $107.75. 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 stock has a market cap of $36.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $103.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.05.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 2,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 24,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 4,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

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.