Sciencast Management LP Acquires 7,844 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Sciencast Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 35.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,844 shares during the quarter. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $2,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ED. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

NYSE:ED opened at $107.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.44. The stock has a market cap of $37.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.16 and a twelve month high of $109.36.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.89%.

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.