Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $100.64.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ED. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 1.1 %

ED opened at $88.93 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.38. Consolidated Edison has a fifty-two week low of $85.85 and a fifty-two week high of $107.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 12.27%. On average, research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 5.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is currently 62.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the third quarter worth $30,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 189.5% during the 3rd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.