Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) Stock Price

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) had its price target reduced by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $88.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 13.80% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on ED. Barclays decreased their price target on Consolidated Edison from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.19.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ED traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $98.61. The company had a trading volume of 353,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,862,976. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $34.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.36. Consolidated Edison has a twelve month low of $85.85 and a twelve month high of $107.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.06.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 8.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Consolidated Edison will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 4.2% during the second quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 2,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 2.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

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.