Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 328 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 23,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 328 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $2,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Consolidated Edison by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI downgraded Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.70.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock opened at $98.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.39. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.85 and a 12 month high of $107.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.98.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. On average, research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. 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%.

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.