ABC Arbitrage SA Purchases Shares of 29,994 Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 29,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,676,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Consolidated Edison by 1.1% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,142 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,799 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on ED shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised Consolidated Edison from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Consolidated Edison from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.70.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

NYSE ED traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,857,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,395,298. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.05. The stock has a market cap of $32.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.39. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.85 and a fifty-two week high of $107.75.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Consolidated Edison's dividend payout ratio is 62.52%.

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.