Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Trading 5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)’s stock price shot up 5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $94.80 and last traded at $95.13. 1,651,012 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 2,147,737 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ED. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank raised Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.00.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $92.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.38.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 8.70%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison during the third quarter valued at $776,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 10,302.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 24,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after buying an additional 24,211 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,145,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,373,000 after buying an additional 82,985 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 143,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,772,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 102.7% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 430,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,394,000 after acquiring an additional 217,981 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

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.