Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $1,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 13.0% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in Consolidated Edison by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Consolidated Edison by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 24,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ED opened at $89.28 on Wednesday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.85 and a 12-month high of $107.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $30.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.90.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 8.70%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is 62.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ED shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.64.

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.