bLong Financial LLC Invests $685,000 in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

bLong Financial LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $685,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 10,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,676,000. Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at about $310,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at about $778,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 18,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after buying an additional 2,404 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ED opened at $95.01 on Friday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.85 and a twelve month high of $107.75. 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 capitalization of $32.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.13.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is 62.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.00.

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.