Prudential PLC Sells 33,535 Shares of Consolidated Edison Inc $ED

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Consolidated Edison Inc by 41.3% during the first quarter, now holding 47,678 shares valued at $5.27 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Consolidated Edison, with Public Sector Pension Investment Board and AIA Group Ltd significantly boosting their shares.
• Consolidated Edison declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, representing a 3.3% yield, with the next payment scheduled for September 15th.

Prudential PLC lowered its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison Inc (NYSE:ED - Free Report) by 41.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,678 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 33,535 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $5,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ED. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position 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 worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the first quarter valued at about $227,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Consolidated Edison by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 250,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,649,000 after buying an additional 6,869 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 1st quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 45.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,242 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 2,869 shares during the period. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of ED stock traded down $0.99 on Monday, hitting $99.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,341,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,730,466. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $35.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.24. Consolidated Edison Inc has a 12-month low of $87.28 and a 12-month high of $114.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.70 and a 200 day moving average of $103.61.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.60 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Consolidated Edison Inc will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Consolidated Edison's dividend payout ratio is 61.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ED has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America cut shares of Consolidated Edison from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $112.00 to $101.00 in a report on Friday. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Consolidated Edison from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.82.

Consolidated Edison 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.