Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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 trading volume, of 2,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days.

Consolidated Edison Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:ED traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $89.56. 1,319,594 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,913,096. The firm has a market cap of $31.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $97.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Consolidated Edison has a fifty-two week low of $85.85 and a fifty-two week high of $107.75.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.12. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 12.27%. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison will post 5.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ED. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 189.5% during the third quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ED shares. Scotiabank raised Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $90.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Consolidated Edison from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.96.

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.