Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Upgraded at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $116.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $103.00.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on ED. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.46.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ED opened at $105.66 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $102.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $36.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.36. Consolidated Edison has a 52-week low of $85.85 and a 52-week high of $106.45.

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

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is currently 63.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clean Energy Transition LLP increased its position in Consolidated Edison by 227.9% in the second quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 897,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,259,000 after purchasing an additional 623,787 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 302.3% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 709,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,396,000 after acquiring an additional 532,893 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 243.2% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 497,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,564,000 after acquiring an additional 352,903 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the first quarter valued at about $30,515,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 101.3% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 606,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,242,000 after acquiring an additional 305,291 shares in the last quarter. 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.