Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Price Target Raised to $120.00

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $116.00 to $120.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on ED. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.80.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

ED traded up $2.33 on Wednesday, hitting $108.10. 1,060,399 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,854,875. Consolidated Edison has a fifty-two week low of $87.28 and a fifty-two week high of $114.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $102.63 and its 200 day moving average is $98.85.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ED. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Company Profile

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.