Korea Investment CORP Purchases 79,154 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 50.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 237,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,154 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of Consolidated Edison worth $21,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ED. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $776,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Consolidated Edison by 4.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,145,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,373,000 after purchasing an additional 82,985 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Consolidated Edison by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 143,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 430,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,394,000 after purchasing an additional 217,981 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 4,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 0.9 %

ED stock opened at $108.81 on Friday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.28 and a 52 week high of $109.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 8.62%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.40.

About Consolidated Edison

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.