Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Sells 200 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 215.6% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Level Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the second quarter worth $30,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

ED traded up $0.54 during trading on Thursday, reaching $90.59. 566,043 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,766,624. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 0.35.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 17.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is currently 46.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $92.50 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.96.

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.