Short Interest in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Expands By 97.9%

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,890,000 shares, a growth of 97.9% from the November 30th total of 7,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ED shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Consolidated Edison in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.96.

Consolidated Edison Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ED traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $89.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,319,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,913,096. Consolidated Edison has a 52 week low of $85.85 and a 52 week high of $107.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $97.24 and its 200 day moving average is $97.98. The stock has a market cap of $31.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 12.27%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison will post 5.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Edison

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 9.7% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 212.3% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,205 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 55.5% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 382,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,188,000 after purchasing an additional 136,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 19.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.