Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,520,000 shares, a decrease of 49.3% from the February 28th total of 16,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ED has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.40.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $108.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,392,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,141,644. Consolidated Edison has a 52 week low of $87.28 and a 52 week high of $109.44. The firm has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $99.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $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.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

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.