Gabelli Funds LLC Reduces Holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 4.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 69,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $6,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter valued at $243,511,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 9,063.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 519,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,216,000 after buying an additional 513,364 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 408.8% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 396,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,101,000 after purchasing an additional 318,858 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 702,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,927,000 after acquiring an additional 252,617 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 153.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 245,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,321,000 after buying an additional 148,988 shares during the period. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered Consolidated Edison from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $97.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.04.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 0.5 %

ED traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.44. 1,438,755 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,490,286. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.21. The stock has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $98.55.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.72%.

Consolidated Edison Company 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.