Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Stock Price

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ED. Barclays lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.40.

Consolidated Edison Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ED opened at $107.85 on Thursday. Consolidated Edison has a one year low of $87.16 and a one year high of $109.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $97.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.40.

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

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is currently 64.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ED. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter worth $399,824,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1,766.0% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 988,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $102,980,000 after acquiring an additional 935,962 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 412.0% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 1,093,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $97,564,000 after acquiring an additional 879,866 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,721,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $332,090,000 after acquiring an additional 812,885 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 232.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,053,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,989,000 after acquiring an additional 736,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.