Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Short Interest Up 9.6% in April

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,190,000 shares, a growth of 9.6% from the March 31st total of 5,650,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $92.50 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.54.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 215.6% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Consolidated Edison stock opened at $93.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.97. Consolidated Edison has a 12 month low of $80.46 and a 12 month high of $100.44. The company has a market capitalization of $32.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 17.19%. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 5.31 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.24%.

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.