Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $1.90 Million Investment in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,901,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ED. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Consolidated Edison by 140.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 36,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,361,000 after buying an additional 21,604 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Consolidated Edison by 169.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 60,314 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,487,000 after purchasing an additional 37,971 shares during the period. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at $1,551,000. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 24.9% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 91,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,844,000 after purchasing an additional 18,270 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,014,000. Institutional investors own 66.29% of the company's stock.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Consolidated Edison stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,398,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,871,028. The stock has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.55.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Consolidated Edison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ED shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "sector underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised shares of Consolidated Edison from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $92.50 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.96.

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.