National Pension Service Trims Holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 431,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,235 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $38,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ED. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth $234,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 4.7% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 37,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 0.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 65,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,812,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 28.8% in the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 6,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 90,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,470,000 after buying an additional 4,223 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of ED stock opened at $101.45 on Friday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.85 and a 1-year high of $107.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.13 and its 200 day moving average is $97.98. The company has a market cap of $35.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. Research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ED has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank increased their price target on Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI downgraded Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on 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 price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.50.

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.