Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Given New $85.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) had its price target trimmed by Scotiabank from $91.00 to $85.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector underperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ED has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. KeyCorp upgraded Consolidated Edison from an underweight rating to a sector weight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a neutral rating and a $92.50 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $87.54.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock opened at $93.43 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.83. Consolidated Edison has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $100.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a PEG ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 17.19%. The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Consolidated Edison will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 0.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,201,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $530,373,000 after buying an additional 27,850 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 8.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,484,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $383,519,000 after buying an additional 340,239 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,221,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,069,000 after buying an additional 72,915 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,976,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $254,616,000 after purchasing an additional 129,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $243,511,000. 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.