Insider Buying: Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) CFO Acquires 156 Shares of Stock

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) CFO Robert N. Hoglund acquired 156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $90.81 per share, for a total transaction of $14,166.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,052 shares in the company, valued at $4,091,172.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of ED stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $90.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,659,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,769,649. The company has a market cap of $31.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 8.54 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.07 and a 200-day moving average of $89.52. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.92.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 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 business had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. Consolidated Edison’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ED shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised Consolidated Edison from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.96.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Level Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the third quarter worth $26,000. Retirement Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 74.8% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the second quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

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.