Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Stock Price

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $93.00 to $92.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on ED. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Consolidated Edison from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.18.

Consolidated Edison Trading Up 0.2%

Consolidated Edison stock opened at $100.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.55. The company has a market capitalization of $36.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.27. Consolidated Edison has a 52 week low of $87.28 and a 52 week high of $114.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 8.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.85%.

Institutional Trading of Consolidated Edison

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 16.8% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 4,451 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 97,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,736,000 after acquiring an additional 17,147 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the period. 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.