Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $109.44 and last traded at $109.28, with a volume of 596391 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ED shares. Evercore ISI cut Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.40.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $99.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.53.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is presently 64.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $776,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings 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 valued at $223,373,000 after purchasing an additional 82,985 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 143,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $38,394,000 after purchasing an additional 217,981 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 4,451 shares in the last quarter. 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.