Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Shares Bought by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 215.6% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 62.2% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.75.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ED opened at $95.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $90.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.08. The stock has a market cap of $33.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 0.34. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $100.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.72%.

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.