West Tower Group LLC Makes New Investment in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ED. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ED opened at $107.89 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $37.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.16 and a 12 month high of $108.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.26.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during 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, analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays upped their price objective 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 cut shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.50.

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.