Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Short Interest Update

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,520,000 shares, a decline of 49.3% from the February 28th total of 16,790,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Consolidated Edison Trading Up 0.9 %

ED traded up $0.92 on Friday, reaching $108.81. 2,392,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,141,644. The company has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Consolidated Edison has a one year low of $87.28 and a one year high of $109.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.51.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current 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 given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho raised their target price 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. UBS Group increased their price target on Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ED. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $399,824,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1,766.0% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 988,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,980,000 after purchasing an additional 935,962 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 412.0% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 1,093,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,564,000 after purchasing an additional 879,866 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,721,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $332,090,000 after buying an additional 812,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Consolidated Edison by 232.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,053,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,989,000 after buying an additional 736,348 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

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.