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

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.64.

ED has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 2,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of ED opened at $88.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $30.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $93.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Consolidated Edison has a 1 year low of $85.85 and a 1 year high of $107.75.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for 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, equities research analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison will post 5.34 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.52%.

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.