Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.85

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 16th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of 0.85 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83.

Consolidated Edison has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 51 years. Consolidated Edison has a payout ratio of 55.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Consolidated Edison to earn $5.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.1%.

Consolidated Edison Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of ED traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $92.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,097,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,042,055. Consolidated Edison has a fifty-two week low of $85.85 and a fifty-two week high of $107.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.38.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.02 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 8.70%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ED shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup upgraded Consolidated Edison from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $108.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.64.

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.

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