Essex Financial Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 215.6% in 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 during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Consolidated Edison by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Consolidated Edison from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.75.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

ED stock opened at $95.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $33.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 0.34. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $100.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.08.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 12.43%. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.31 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is currently 63.72%.

About Consolidated Edison

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.