Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $106.41 and last traded at $106.05, with a volume of 721553 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ED shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.46.

Consolidated Edison Trading Up 2.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $102.39 and its 200-day moving average is $96.25.

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

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.72%.

Institutional Trading of Consolidated Edison

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ED. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 4.2% in the second quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 2,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 0.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 24,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,517,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, G&S Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.6% in the first quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 8,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.