LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA Grows Position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the third quarter worth about $30,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Stock Down 1.0 %

ED opened at $102.72 on Thursday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.16 and a fifty-two week high of $107.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $35.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.30 and its 200 day moving average is $98.11.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is 64.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ED has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.50.

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.