Marino Stram & Associates LLC Cuts Stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Marino Stram & Associates LLC cut its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,037 shares during the quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $1,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the third quarter worth about $776,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Consolidated Edison by 10,302.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 24,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after buying an additional 24,211 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Consolidated Edison by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,145,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,373,000 after buying an additional 82,985 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 143,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 430,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,394,000 after purchasing an additional 217,981 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.64.

Consolidated Edison Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE ED opened at $90.79 on Thursday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.85 and a 12 month high of $107.75. 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 has a market capitalization of $31.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $93.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.03.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.52%.

Consolidated Edison 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.