Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 78,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,510 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $7,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 215.6% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ED has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.75.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ED opened at $95.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.08. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.44. The firm has a market cap of $33.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.34.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.26. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. Consolidated Edison’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is 46.24%.

Consolidated Edison 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.