Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,650,000 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 6,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 140.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 36,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,361,000 after buying an additional 21,604 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 169.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 60,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,487,000 after buying an additional 37,971 shares in the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth $1,551,000. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 24.9% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 91,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,844,000 after buying an additional 18,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the third quarter worth $8,014,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

NYSE ED traded down $1.90 on Tuesday, hitting $87.42. 2,092,871 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,771,785. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.90 and a 200-day moving average of $89.52. 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 has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.92. The stock has a market cap of $30.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 0.35.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is 46.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ED has been the topic of several research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $92.50 target price on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.96.

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.