Reasons to Add Consolidated Edison (ED) to Your Portfolio Now
Consolidated Edison Inc.’s ED systematic capital investment plan for infrastructure development and emission reduction will further boost its performance. Given its growth opportunities, ED makes for a solid investment option in the utility sector.
Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company a strong investment pick at the moment.
Growth Projections & Surprise History
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ED’s 2023 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 0.8% to $4.90 in the past 90 days.
The company’s long-term (three to five-year) earnings growth rate is 2%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 8.22% in the last four quarters.
Return on Equity
Return on equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing its funds to generate higher returns. Currently, Consolidated Edison’s ROE is 8.27%, higher than the industry’s average of 5.43%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing its funds more constructively than its peers in the electric power utility industry.
Dividend History
Consolidated Edison has been consistently rewarding its shareholders through regular dividends. Currently, its quarterly dividend is 81 cents per share. This resulted in an annualized dividend of $3.24 per share, indicating a 2.5% improvement from the previous year’s $3.16. The company’s current dividend yield is 3.65%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's average of 1.46%.
Debt Position
Currently, ED’s total debt to capital is 50.58%, better than industry’s average of 62.16%.
The stock’s time-to-interest earned ratio at the end of second-quarter 2023 was 4.2. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects Consolidated Edison’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.
Systematic Investments
The company continues to follow a systematic capital investment plan for developing infrastructure and maintaining the reliability of its electric, gas and steam delivery systems. Consolidated Edison spent capital worth $4.47 billion in 2022, up 12.6% from the previous year’s recorded figure.
The company has a robust capital expenditure plan of $14.6 billion for the 2023-2025 period. In the next 10 years, it plans to invest $72 billion. Con Edison Transmission plans to invest $58 million, $6 million and $6 million in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively, primarily in the electric transmission business.
Price Performance
In the past year, ED’s shares have rallied 5.2% against the industry’s average decline of 7.9%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Other Stocks to Consider
A few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are Vistra Corp. VST, which currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and Avangrid Inc. AGR and Xcel Energy XEL, each holding a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VST’s 2023 EPS indicates a year-over-year improvement of 220.4%. The same for sales indicates a year-over-year increase of 47.8%.
AGR’s long-term earnings growth rate is 4.05%. The consensus estimate for the company’s 2023 sales implies year-over-year growth of 6.4%.
XEL’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.49%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 EPS indicates a year-over-year improvement of 6%.
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Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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