Short Interest in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Decreases By 5.8%

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,650,000 shares, a drop of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 6,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ED. Roundview Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 1st quarter worth approximately $680,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,579,000 after purchasing an additional 190,138 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 18,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.3% during 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 period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Trading Up 3.3 %

ED stock opened at $90.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Consolidated Edison has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $100.92. The stock has a market cap of $31.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $88.87 and its 200 day moving average is $89.54.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 17.19%. Consolidated Edison’s revenue was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ED. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $92.50 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp upgraded Consolidated Edison from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Consolidated Edison from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.96.

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.