Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Lowered to Hold Rating by Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.64.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ED opened at $90.75 on Tuesday. Consolidated Edison has a fifty-two week low of $85.85 and a fifty-two week high of $107.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.98. 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 cap of $31.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.38.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 12.27%. The business had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. On average, analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.52%.

Institutional Trading of Consolidated Edison

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.