Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 220 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter worth about $776,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 10,302.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 24,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 24,211 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 4.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,145,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,373,000 after buying an additional 82,985 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 143,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,772,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 430,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,394,000 after acquiring an additional 217,981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ED stock opened at $92.60 on Thursday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.85 and a 12-month high of $107.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.78 and a 200-day moving average of $98.10. The company has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

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.