Merit Financial Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Merit Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,134,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 9,063.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 519,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,216,000 after purchasing an additional 513,364 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,556,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Consolidated Edison by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,484,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,519,000 after buying an additional 340,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,156,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

NYSE ED opened at $97.55 on Thursday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.46 and a 1 year high of $100.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $90.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.28.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.26. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 8.79%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is currently 63.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ED shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.46.

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.