Short Interest in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Drops By 8.6%

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED – Get Rating) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,120,000 shares, a drop of 8.6% from the December 15th total of 7,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ED traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.76. 368,889 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,609,166. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.06. Consolidated Edison has a twelve month low of $78.10 and a twelve month high of $102.21.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Consolidated Edison will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ED. Roundview Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $680,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $97,579,000 after buying an additional 190,138 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 18,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ED. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Consolidated Edison from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 3rd. KeyCorp cut their target price on Consolidated Edison from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Consolidated Edison from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America raised Consolidated Edison from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Consolidated Edison from $87.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.73.

Consolidated Edison Company Profile

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Consolidated Edison, Inc operates as a holding company, which through its subsidiaries engages in the business of regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery. It operates through the following segments: Consolidated Edison Company of New York(CECONY), Orange and Rockland Utilities(O&R), Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses and Con Edison Transmission.