Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 82.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 260,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 118,260 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Consolidated Edison worth $23,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ED. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Consolidated Edison stock opened at $107.85 on Friday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.16 and a 12 month high of $109.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS 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 business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. Equities analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is 64.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ED. UBS Group upped their price target on Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI downgraded Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.40.

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.