Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $12.77 Million Stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 143,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $12,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Consolidated Edison during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in Consolidated Edison by 189.5% during the third quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of ED stock opened at $92.17 on Friday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a one year low of $85.85 and a one year high of $107.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.85. The stock has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.38.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is presently 62.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ED shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup raised Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.64.

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.