Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Stock Price

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) had its price target raised by Mizuho from $92.00 to $95.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on ED. Citigroup upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI downgraded Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.00.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ED opened at $96.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.15. Consolidated Edison has a 12 month low of $85.85 and a 12 month high of $107.75.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 8.70%. Analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 5.35 EPS for the current 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 $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.03%.

Institutional Trading of Consolidated Edison

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Consolidated Edison by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 1.1% in 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 grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

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.