Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,910,000 shares, a growth of 7.3% from the December 31st total of 13,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $90.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Consolidated Edison stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $95.16. The company had a trading volume of 495,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,421,202. Consolidated Edison has a 52 week low of $85.85 and a 52 week high of $107.75. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.15.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 12.27%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is currently 62.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1,766.0% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 988,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $102,980,000 after buying an additional 935,962 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,268,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,081,000 after purchasing an additional 572,530 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 10,262.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 553,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,641,000 after acquiring an additional 548,204 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 350.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,634,000 after acquiring an additional 482,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,429,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,439,684,000 after acquiring an additional 399,034 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.