SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth about $30,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth about $55,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of ED stock opened at $102.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $35.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.39. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.16 and a 52 week high of $107.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.98.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is 64.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ED. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. 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. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.50.

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.