Verity & Verity LLC Purchases 297 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 0.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,502,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $134,323,000 after purchasing an additional 11,785 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 11.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,273,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $113,845,000 after purchasing an additional 125,859 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,026,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,889,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 227.9% during the second quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 897,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,259,000 after purchasing an additional 623,787 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 709,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,413,000 after buying an additional 36,991 shares during the period. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ED has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.35.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

NYSE ED opened at $96.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $33.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.36. 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 50-day simple moving average is $102.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.05. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.85 and a 52 week high of $107.75.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The business had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.52%.

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.