Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Stock Holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $3,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ED. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 1,766.0% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 988,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,980,000 after purchasing an additional 935,962 shares in the last quarter. Burkehill Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,538,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 82.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,268,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,081,000 after acquiring an additional 572,530 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 350.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,634,000 after acquiring an additional 482,953 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,916,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

ED stock opened at $107.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $37.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $98.95 and its 200 day moving average is $98.46. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.28 and a 52 week high of $109.36. 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 data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. Research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is presently 64.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ED shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.40.

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.