Korea Investment CORP Buys 79,154 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 50.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 237,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,154 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $21,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.40.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

ED stock opened at $108.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.56 and its 200-day moving average is $98.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.28 and a 1 year high of $109.44.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. Equities research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.89%.

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.