Brokerages Set Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Price Target at $98.73

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.73.

ED has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 0.2 %

ED stock opened at $104.81 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $103.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.37. Consolidated Edison has a 12 month low of $85.85 and a 12 month high of $107.75. The company has a market cap of $36.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is 63.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 2,307.7% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 380.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.