Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases 176,824 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED - Free Report) by 367.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 176,824 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.06% of Consolidated Edison worth $20,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,455,662 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,788,319,000 after acquiring an additional 488,752 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,984,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $799,684,000 after purchasing an additional 130,234 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the 4th quarter worth approximately $399,824,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,721,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $332,090,000 after buying an additional 812,885 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,225,989 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $198,625,000 after buying an additional 77,323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.29% of the company's stock.

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Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

ED stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $112.48. The stock had a trading volume of 487,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,840,868. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.96. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.28 and a fifty-two week high of $114.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.01. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.63 billion. Analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison's payout ratio is 64.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ED has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.80.

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.