Consolidated Edison Inc $ED Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Consolidated Edison by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,956 shares and ending with 144,403 shares valued at about $14.3 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: several firms cut or maintained bearish ratings, and the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average target price of $108.71.
• Consolidated Edison reported Q1 earnings below expectations ($2.18 EPS vs. $2.28 expected) and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8875 per share, implying a 3.3% annualized yield.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Consolidated Edison Inc (NYSE:ED - Free Report) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,403 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,956 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $14,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ED. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,636,041 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,532,572,000 after acquiring an additional 461,108 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,050,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,417,563,000 after acquiring an additional 63,346 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 121,543.9% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,960,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $599,155,000 after acquiring an additional 5,955,653 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 1.2% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,351,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $437,416,000 after purchasing an additional 52,061 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 1.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,128,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $415,026,000 after purchasing an additional 57,365 shares during the period. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ED. Barclays lowered their target price on Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $99.00 price target on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research report on Thursday. Evercore set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $108.71.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Consolidated Edison stock opened at $108.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.80. The stock has a market cap of $40.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.29. Consolidated Edison Inc has a 12-month low of $94.96 and a 12-month high of $116.23.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($0.10). Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. Consolidated Edison has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.000-6.200 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Consolidated Edison Inc will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.8875 per share. This represents a $3.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Consolidated Edison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Consolidated Edison

In related news, SVP Deneen L. Donnley sold 1,922 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total transaction of $218,992.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,453 shares in the company, valued at $3,697,694.82. The trade was a 5.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Consolidated Edison Profile

Consolidated Edison, Inc, commonly known as Con Edison, is an investor-owned energy company that primarily delivers electricity, natural gas and steam to customers in the New York metropolitan area. Its regulated utility operations include the distribution and transmission of electric power, the distribution of natural gas, and the operation of one of the largest district steam systems in the United States, serving commercial, institutional and residential customers in New York City and nearby counties.

The company operates through regulated utility subsidiaries that serve urban and suburban service territories, together with non-utility businesses that develop, own and manage energy infrastructure and clean energy projects.

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