Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Price Target to $105.00

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $105.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays lowered Consolidated Edison from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus raised Consolidated Edison to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a sector underperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $90.35.

Consolidated Edison Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of ED stock traded up $1.62 on Friday, reaching $101.83. The company had a trading volume of 4,425,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,594,067. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $35.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.36 and a 200-day moving average of $91.43. Consolidated Edison has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $105.99.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 12.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is presently 63.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ED. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter valued at $243,511,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $47,216,000 after acquiring an additional 513,364 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Consolidated Edison by 243.2% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 497,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,564,000 after acquiring an additional 352,903 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 1st quarter valued at $30,515,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Consolidated Edison by 408.8% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 396,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,101,000 after acquiring an additional 318,858 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

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.