Rafferty Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 963 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $3,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ED. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $94.00 target price on shares of Consolidated Edison and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.36.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of ED opened at $104.31 on Monday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.80. The stock has a market cap of $37.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.29. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a one year low of $87.28 and a one year high of $114.87.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.85%.

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.