Citigroup Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Consolidated Edison Inc (NYSE:ED)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 49.2% during the first quarter, acquiring 275,651 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 836,340 shares, valued at $92.49 million.
• Other significant institutional investors also boosted their positions, with Deutsche Bank AG leading the pack with an increase of 130.6%, now owning nearly 3.93 million shares worth $434.27 million.
• Consolidated Edison recently reported an EPS of $0.67 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, representing a 3.3% dividend yield.

Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison Inc (NYSE:ED - Free Report) by 49.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 836,340 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 275,651 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.23% of Consolidated Edison worth $92,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ED. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 64.9% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 305 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

ED traded down $0.51 on Tuesday, reaching $103.62. The company had a trading volume of 2,578,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,122,352. Consolidated Edison Inc has a 52-week low of $87.28 and a 52-week high of $114.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.36. The company has a market cap of $37.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.24.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.39 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 11.98%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison Inc will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Consolidated Edison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ED has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.70.

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.