Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $108.00 and last traded at $108.06, with a volume of 259114 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $106.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ED has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.50.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 0.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.75 and its 200-day moving average is $98.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.89%.

Institutional Trading of Consolidated Edison

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ED. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter worth $399,824,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 1,766.0% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 988,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,980,000 after purchasing an additional 935,962 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 412.0% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 1,093,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,564,000 after purchasing an additional 879,866 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,721,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $332,090,000 after purchasing an additional 812,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 232.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,053,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,989,000 after purchasing an additional 736,348 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.