Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Sells 34,816 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 52.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 34,816 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $2,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth about $397,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,344,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 64.3% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 358,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,982,000 after purchasing an additional 140,266 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 82.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 260,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,277,000 after purchasing an additional 118,260 shares during the period. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 128.4% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 18,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 10,290 shares during the period. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ED shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI downgraded Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.10.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ED opened at $108.54 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.52 and a 200-day moving average of $98.39. The company has a market capitalization of $37.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.16 and a 52-week high of $109.78.

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

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is 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.