Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Grows Stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP raised its stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,658 shares during the quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $3,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ED. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 215.6% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Level Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Retirement Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ED has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. KeyCorp raised shares of Consolidated Edison from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $92.50 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.96.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ED traded down $0.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $89.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,737,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,974. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.35. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $100.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.