Freedom Investment Management Inc. Decreases Position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 721 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter valued at $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 380.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ED. Bank of America raised their price target on Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $103.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $108.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.13.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

NYSE ED opened at $100.59 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $101.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.21. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.85 and a 12-month high of $107.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 12.27%. Research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.34 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.52%.

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.