Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. Reduces Stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. reduced its position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $39,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,201,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $530,373,000 after purchasing an additional 27,850 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,484,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,519,000 after purchasing an additional 340,239 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,221,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $361,069,000 after purchasing an additional 72,915 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,976,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $254,616,000 after purchasing an additional 129,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,984,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $169,716,000 after purchasing an additional 26,910 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ED. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $92.50 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Consolidated Edison from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.54.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

ED stock opened at $94.78 on Thursday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 0.34.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 17.19%. The business had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.31 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. 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.