Bfsg LLC Acquires Shares of 777 Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $71,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ED. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 9,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 60,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,156,000 after buying an additional 19,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

ED opened at $94.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $89.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.86. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $100.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $32.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 0.35.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. Consolidated Edison’s revenue was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is 46.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ED. UBS Group dropped their target price on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. KeyCorp upgraded Consolidated Edison from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $92.50 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.54.

Consolidated Edison 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.