Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Shares Bought by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 78.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,666 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 64,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,733,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 26,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ED. 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 price objective 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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 dropped their target price on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of ED opened at $92.60 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.10. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.85 and a 12-month high of $107.75. The firm has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

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

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

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

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.