Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $98.00 to $104.00. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Consolidated Edison traded as high as $107.04 and last traded at $106.87, with a volume of 46628 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.76.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on ED. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the second quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 380.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 0.1 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.72%.

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.