Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 54.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,204 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ED. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Consolidated Edison by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 0.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 24,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

NYSE:ED opened at $93.17 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $93.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.01. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.85 and a fifty-two week high of $107.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.12. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is 62.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Consolidated Edison from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.64.

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.