West Tower Group LLC Buys Shares of 4,500 Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

NYSE ED opened at $107.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.16 and a 12-month high of $108.43. The company has a market capitalization of $37.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.75 and its 200-day moving average is $98.26.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 8.62%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is presently 64.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ED has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.50.

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.