Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $109.44 and last traded at $109.28, with a volume of 596391 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ED. Mizuho boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.40.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.51. The firm 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 (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.12%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is presently 64.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 4.7% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.1% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

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.