Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $87.96.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $92.50 target price for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ED. Montecito Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison during the first quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Welch Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 3.2% during the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 489,378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,440,000 after purchasing an additional 15,311 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 26.8% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 6,130 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2,486.2% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 21,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 20,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 9.6% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

NYSE:ED traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $91.12. 1,184,146 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,755,690. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a P/E/G ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.08 and a 200 day moving average of $89.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Consolidated Edison has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.92.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. The business's revenue was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. Consolidated Edison's payout ratio is presently 46.24%.

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.