Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Stock

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) had its price objective upped by Scotiabank from $100.00 to $101.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ED. Mizuho boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.50.

Consolidated Edison Trading Down 1.0 %

ED stock opened at $99.92 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $92.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.97. Consolidated Edison has a fifty-two week low of $85.85 and a fifty-two week high of $107.75. The firm has a market cap of $34.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 8.62%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is 64.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 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.