Essex Financial Services Inc. Boosts Position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth about $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:ED opened at $94.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $32.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.85 and a 52 week high of $107.75.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ED shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI cut Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.00.

Consolidated Edison Profile

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.