Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Consolidated Edison Inc (NYSE:ED)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison Inc (NYSE:ED - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 473,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,476 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Consolidated Edison worth $52,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,451 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 250,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,649,000 after purchasing an additional 6,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Consolidated Edison by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,516 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

NYSE ED traded down $0.82 on Tuesday, reaching $98.89. 114,170 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,379,763. Consolidated Edison Inc has a 12 month low of $87.28 and a 12 month high of $114.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.20. The stock has a market cap of $35.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.26.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.05). Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison Inc will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. Consolidated Edison's payout ratio is 62.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.27.

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.