Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New Investment in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 38,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,445,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,429,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,439,684,000 after purchasing an additional 399,034 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,853,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $919,041,000 after buying an additional 107,281 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,225,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,625,000 after acquiring an additional 77,323 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,221,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $197,795,000 after acquiring an additional 242,243 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Consolidated Edison by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,145,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,373,000 after acquiring an additional 82,985 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock opened at $107.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.26. 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 fifty-two week low of $87.16 and a fifty-two week high of $108.43. The company has a market cap of $37.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ED shares. Evercore ISI lowered Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted 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 report on Monday, February 24th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.