UBS Group Raises Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Price Target to $96.00

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $92.00 to $96.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a sector underperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Argus raised Consolidated Edison to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $89.42.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ED opened at $94.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.12. Consolidated Edison has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $98.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.34.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.26. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Consolidated Edison will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 2,307.7% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 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.