Analysts Set Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) PT at $98.73

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.73.

ED has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 target price for the company.

Consolidated Edison Trading Down 0.2 %

ED opened at $102.74 on Friday. Consolidated Edison has a 1-year low of $85.85 and a 1-year high of $107.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $35.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $103.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.50.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 8.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Consolidated Edison will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is 63.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. boosted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 4.2% in the second quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 2,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 24,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 4,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.