Wedbush Securities Inc. Acquires 2,871 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 70.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,711,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter valued at $1,608,000. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter worth $18,018,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 412.0% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 1,093,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $97,564,000 after acquiring an additional 879,866 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their target price 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped 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 note on Monday, February 24th. Two equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.40.

Consolidated Edison Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ED opened at $105.35 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.27. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.28 and a 52-week high of $114.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is 64.89%.

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.