Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Short Interest Down 5.8% in March

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,650,000 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 6,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $92.50 price target on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.96.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ED. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Level Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 74.8% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of ED stock traded down $1.90 on Wednesday, reaching $87.42. The company had a trading volume of 2,098,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,562,727. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Consolidated Edison has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.92. The business’s 50-day moving average is $88.85 and its 200 day moving average is $89.53.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.24%.

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.