Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » Consolidated Edison

Consolidated Edison to Go Solar – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:01:55 +0000

Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) has filed a proposal with the state of New York asking for funds for solar energy projects in New York City. The company has requested $24.8 million from the state to fund renewable energy programs for residential and commercial customers in New York City. The company filed a proposal with the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) to support the development of 25 MW of solar energy resources in New York City by 2015, which would offset about 16,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually.

Consolidated Edison had earlier asked the PSC for $125 million for the installation of renewable energy projects throughout its service area. If approved, the combined proposed program funding would achieve more than 100 MW of new solar capacity in the company's service area, enough to offset 60,000 tons of CO2 emissions a year.

In fiscal 2009, Consolidated Edison reported an EPS of $3.09, beating the fiscal 2008 EPS of $3.00. Earnings were boosted by lower fuel expenses and purchased power cost but offset by higher operations, maintenance expense and depreciation.

Consolidated Edison expects EPS from ongoing operations for fiscal 2010 in the range of $3.10 – $3.30. This is in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of an EPS of $3.26 for the period. The forecast reflects capital investments of $2.3 billion, substantially all of which will be spent on the company's regulated utilities. The company also expects to issue common stock worth between $300 million and $500 million and long-term debt between $600 million and $900 million to finance its expansion plans.

New York City-based Consolidated Edison is a diversified utility holding company with subsidiaries engaged in both regulated and unregulated businesses. Consolidated Edison’s regulated businesses operate through two subsidiaries − Consolidated Edison Company of New York (Con Edison of New York) and Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R).

Con Edison of New York is a regulated utility in New York City and Westchester County. O&R serves electric and gas customers in southeastern New York State, northern New Jersey, and northeastern Pennsylvania. Consolidated Edison’s unregulated businesses operate through three subsidiaries – Consolidated Edison Development (engaged in infrastructure development), Consolidated Edison Energy (supplies energy in the wholesale market) and Consolidated Edison Solutions (provides retail energy).
Read the full analyst report on "ED"
Zacks Investment Research

Con Edison Falls Behind Consensus – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:15:07 +0000

Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) announced its fourth quarter results of fiscal 2009 with earnings per share (EPS) of 67 cents, which fell short of both the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate of 77 cents and the year-ago EPS of 72 cents. EPS was affected by the dilutive effect of a higher weighted average number of common shares outstanding of 278.2 million compared to 274.2 million shares in the prior-year quarter.

However, Consolidated Edison surpassed its year-ago quarterly GAAP EPS of 58 cents by 15 cents in the fourth quarter. The EPS variations reflect the year-over-year differences, where Con Edison of New York benefited from 36 cents per share as higher rates authorized higher recovery of costs and 1 cent from miscellaneous items. This was offset by 23 cents from higher operations and maintenance expense, 17 cents from depreciation, 5 cents from capital expenditure reserve and 2 cents from interest expense. The net effect was a 10-cent shortfall in EPS year over year while the Orange and Rockland utilities remained steady. In the Competitive Energy businesses, EPS was boosted by 18 cents from net mark-to-market effects, 2 cents from gain on sale of generation projects, and 5 cents from higher earnings from continuing operations.

Consolidated Edison in fiscal 2009 reported EPS of $3.09 beating fiscal 2008 EPS of $3.00. Although this fell 6 cents short of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Earnings were boosted by lower fuel expenses and purchased power cost but was offset by higher operations and maintenance expense, and depreciation.

In the reported quarter, Consolidated Edison witnessed a 9.2% spike year over year in revenues to $3.3 billion from $3 billion in the year-ago quarter. The upside came from Electricity and Non-utility segments which rose year-over-year by 5.3% and 62% respectively. However gas and stream segments fell year-over-year 7.1% and 21.9%, respectively.

Consolidated Edison expects EPS from ongoing operations for fiscal 2010 in the range $3.10 – $3.30. The forecast reflects capital investments of $2.3 billion, substantially all of which will be spent on the company's regulated utilities. The company also expects to issue common stock worth between $300 million and $500 million and long-term debt between $600 million and $900 million to finance its expansion plans.

New York City-based Consolidated Edison is a diversified utility holding company with subsidiaries engaged in both regulated and unregulated businesses. Consolidated Edison’s regulated businesses operate through two subsidiaries — Consolidated Edison Company of New York (Con Edison of New York) and Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R).

Con Edison of New York is a regulated utility in New York City and Westchester County. O&R serves electric and gas customers in southeastern New York State, northern New Jersey, and northeastern Pennsylvania. Consolidated Edison’s unregulated businesses operate through three subsidiaries – Consolidated Edison Development (engaged in infrastructure development), Consolidated Edison Energy (supplies energy in the wholesale market), and Consolidated Edison Solutions (provides retail energy).
Read the full analyst report on "ED"
Zacks Investment Research

The Strangle Options Play: When How To Use This Trading Strategy

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:51:00 +0000

pIn my column last week, I showed you how to use straddle options to take advantage of market/stock volatility when the direction is uncertain. This week, we hop over the fence to the straddle’s sister strategy - the strangle options play./p pTo refresh your memory, a straddle is when you essentially bet on both sides of a trade by using options that have the same strike price and same expiration date./p pFor example, if you like strongBank of America/strong (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=BAC"BAC/a), currently trading around $12, you could buy a $12 call option and a $12 put option. In doing so, the goal is that once the stock moves in a particular direction, one option will move high enough that it offsets the loss#8230;/p

Buy and Hold is Alive and Well

Bullish Bankers — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:00:40 +0000

Every time the United States goes through a recession, the pundits all race to be the first to proclaim that “Buy and Hold” is dead. I can’t watch a financial news channel or read a financial website without some mention of this proclamation. Well I’m growing tired of it, and if it were up to [...]

Con Edison Gives New Guidance – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:41:05 +0000

Con Edison Announces 2009 Earnings Guidance

Consolidated Edison (ED) announced that it expects 2009 earnings per share from ongoing operations to be within the range of $3.00 to $3.20 per share.

The new 2009 earnings guidance considers the effects of the recently approved Consolidated Edison Company of New York electric rate order, including the company's plan with respect to austerity measures that the rate order directed the company to file with the New York State Public Service Commission.

In addition, for 2009, the company now expects to spend approximately $2.3 billion for capital investments, virtually all of which will be spent at the company's regulated utilities.

The diversified utility holding company also expects to issue common stock of between $150 million and $400 million in addition to stock issuances under the company's dividend reinvestment and employee stock plans. This is a decrease from the previously announced range in January 2009 of common stock issuances of between $300 million to $550 million. Con Edison of New York issued $750 million of long-term debt in March 2009 and the utilities may issue up to $600 million of additional long-term debt in the remainder of the year. These issuances are in addition to debt issuances for maturing securities.

Looking ahead, stable regulated utility operations, a gain on the sale of generation projects, a reasonably strong balance sheet, strong cash flow, and earnings from non-regulated businesses collectively make Consolidated Edison a conservative income-based investment story. ED offers an above-industry average dividend yield, competitive with Treasury yields. However, a rising debt level and earnings dilutive stock issuances to upgrade its utility infrastructure, and pending New York's electric rate case continue to restrain valuation.

Accordingly, with a mixed outlook, we maintain our market-neutral HOLD recommendation on ED common stock with a six-month target price of $35.75. Price appreciation to our near-term valuation target, coupled with recently increased $0.59 per share quarterly dividend -- which appears sustainable assuming modest projected EPS growth -- represents annualized total return potential of 12.3%.

New York-based Consolidated Edison is a diversified utility holding company and is one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $34 billion in assets. The company provides a wide range of energy-related products and services to its customers.
Read the full analyst report on "ED"
Zacks Investment Research

Best Stocks of 2009 Review: The First Third

Bullish Bankers — Sun, 10 May 2009 10:00:37 +0000

More than a third of the year has passed and the markets have rebounded nicely from their lows to turn a small profit on the year. It seems that the worst may be behind us when it comes to equity prices as many stocks have rallied more than 50% this year alone. Here at Bullish [...]

Best Stocks of 2009 Review: The First Third

Bullish Bankers — Sun, 10 May 2009 10:00:37 +0000

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Palm, Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Callidus Software, Inc., Consolidated Edison and Washington Post Company. – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:00:35 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 5, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Palm (PALM), Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG), Callidus Software, Inc. (CALD), Consolidated Edison (ED) and Washington Post Company (WPO).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

PALM: Hype & A Hot Stock

One of this year's hottest stocks has been Palm (PALM). Yes, the Palm that made PDA famous.

Last fall, shares of the company could have purchased for about $1.50 per share. On Friday, the stock closed at over $10. Year-to-date, PALM's return puts it within the top 1% of all stocks within the entire Zacks Rank universe.

A very impressive run. Unfortunately, the strong upward move is based on hype.

Hartford Loss Worse than Expected

Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG) reported its results after market close yesterday, with a conference call held this morning. 1Q09 net loss came in at $1.2 billion, or $3.77 per diluted share, compared with 1Q08 net income of $145 million, or $0.46 per diluted share. Excluding investment results, operating loss was $3.66 per share, far worse than the consensus estimate of a loss of $3.05 per share.

Written premiums for P&C operations were approximately $2.5 billion, down 5% from the year-ago quarter. Net income from ongoing operations was $111 million, including the effect of a $188 million net realized capital loss, compared with net income of $312 million, including the effect of an $87 million net realized capital loss, for 1Q08. The decrease in net income was primarily due to higher net realized capital losses and lower net investment income.

Callidus Software Losses Mount

Shares of Callidus Software, Inc. (CALD, Hold) are off over 6% in trading today following the company's Q1 earnings release yesterday. Q1 revenues of $25.9 million was higher than our estimate of $25.2 million and consensus of $24.9 million, while non-GAAP EPS came in lower than expected. Q1 loss of $(0.05) per share was significantly lower than our and consensus estimate of a loss of $(0.02) per share.

Callidus is one of the major providers of Enterprise Incentive Management (EIM) software systems. EIM software helps large enterprises across many industries determine and automate total compensation packages. Q1 revenue upside came mainly from the Services & Other segment, while recurring revenues came in line with expectation.

Consolidated Edison In-Line

Consolidated Edison (ED) reported 1st quarter 2009 earnings of $180 million, or $0.66 per share, down 41% compared to $303 million, or $1.11 a share, in the 1st quarter of 2008. Excluding extraordinary non-recurring items, earnings from ongoing operations were $214 million, or $0.78 per share, down 10% from $237 million, or $0.87 per share, in the comparable period of 2008.

ConEd's reported operating earnings results for the 1st quarter beat our estimate of $0.77 per share by a penny per share.

Washington Post Misses Ests

Washington Post Company (WPO) posted 1Q09 results that proves even the higher education business isn't impervious to a recession.

The publisher of its namesake newspaper and Newsweek magazine reported that 1Q09 EPS from continuing operations excluding one-time charges plunged to $0.41, grossly missing our estimate of $3.37 and the consensus of $3.48. EPS in 1Q08 was $5.68. Including the myriad charges, the company lost $2.04 in 1Q09, after earning $4.08 for 1Q08.

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2677

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=4580.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.

Contact:
Mark Vickery
Web Content Editor
312-265-9380
Visit: www.zacks.com

Zacks Investment Research

Five Dividends to Count On

Bullish Bankers — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:04:30 +0000

As the fallout in the financial markets continues to unwind, a number of companies have bolted down balance sheets and insured some cash flows by cutting their once attractive dividends. In the past month we have seen the likes of General Electric [GE: 10.32, +0.32 (+3.20%)], JP Morgan Chase [JPM: 27.11, +1.97 (+7.84%)], Bank [...]

Consolidated Edison Reports – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:25:47 +0000

Consolidated Edison (ED) Reports Earnings for Fiscal Year 2008

Consolidated Edison (ED) reported earnings for the 4th quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2008. In the reported quarter, net income was $160 million or $0.58 per share (basic and diluted), compared with $207 million or $0.76 per share (basic and diluted) for the 4th quarter of 2007.

Excluding a gain on the sale of Con Edison Development's generation projects, discontinued operations and net mark-to-market effects of competitive energy businesses, earnings from continuing operations during the reported quarter came to $200 million or $0.72 a share, compared with $191 million or $0.71 a share in the year-ago quarter.

Operating revenue in fiscal 2008 increased marginally to $13.6 billion from $13.1 billion in fiscal 2007. For the full year 2008, the company reported earnings of $1.2 billion, or $4.38 (basic) and $4.37 (diluted) per share, compared to earnings of $929 million, or $3.49 (basic) and $3.47 (diluted) per share, in 2007.

After excluding its Northeast Utilities litigation settlement and certain other charges, earnings from continuing operations were $820 million or $3.00 a share compared with $930 million or $3.50 a share in 2007. The weighted average number of common shares was 274 million shares and 273 million shares for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2008, compared with 272 million shares and 266 million shares in the 2007 periods, respectively. The dilutive effect on earnings per share for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2008 was $0.00 and $0.11, respectively.

2009 Outlook

Consolidated Edison expects to spend $2.6 billion for capital investments, virtually all of which will be spent at the company's regulated utilities. The company also expects to issue common stock within $300 million to $550 million in addition to stock issuances under the company's dividend reinvestment and employee stock plans. The company also intends to issue long-term debt at its utility subsidiaries of $1.1 billion to $1.8 billion in addition to debt issuances for maturing securities.

Stable regulated utility operations, a gain on the sale of generation projects, a reasonably strong balance sheet, strong cash flow, and earnings from non-regulated businesses collectively make Consolidated Edison a conservative income-based investment story. ED offers an above-industry average dividend yield, competitive with Treasury yields.

However, a rising debt level and earnings dilutive stock issuances to upgrade its utility infrastructure, as well as its pending New York electric rate case continue to restrain valuation.

Company Overview

New York City-based Consolidated Edison is a diversified utility holding company with subsidiaries engaged in both regulated and unregulated businesses. ConEd's regulated businesses operate through two subsidiaries -- Consolidated Edison Company of New York (Con Edison of New York) and Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R).

Con Edison of New York is a regulated utility that provides electricity to roughly 3.2 million customers, natural gas to 1.1 million customers, and steam services to about 1,850 customers, primarily in New York City and Westchester County. O&R serves nearly 400,000 electric and gas customers in southeastern New York State, northern New Jersey, and northeastern Pennsylvania.

ConEd's unregulated businesses operate through three subsidiaries: Con Edison Development (engaged in infrastructure development), Con Edison Energy (supplies energy in the wholesale market) and Con Edison Solutions (provides retail energy). Approximately 80% of ConEd's earnings are generated through its regulated businesses.

In the 2nd quarter of 2008, Con Edison Development and its subsidiary, CED/SCS Newington, LLC, completed the sale of their ownership interests in power generating projects (Rock Springs, Ocean Peaking Power, CEEMI, Newington and Lakewood) with an aggregate capacity of approximately 1,706 MW to North American Energy Alliance, LLC. The sale resulted in total cash proceeds, net of estimated taxes and transaction expenses, of $1,075 million, and an after-tax gain, net of all transaction expenses, of $404 million.

Read the full analyst report on ED

"ED" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Protect Your Portfolio With These 3 ‘Safe Haven’ Sectors

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:15:10 +0000

pIt#8217;s clear that 2009 is going to be grim in economic terms. strongMartin Denholm/strong says investors should stick to sectors that fare better during recessions. The healthcare sector, discount retailers and utilities companies provide essential products and generate repeat business. Martin picks the strongest companies in these #8220;safe haven#8221; sectors./p pThis from Smart Profits Report/p blockquotepstrongA Healthcare Haven/strong/p pIt stands to reason that the sectors and companies that traditionally fare better during economic recessions are those that garner essential repeat business./p pAs my colleague Marc Lichtenfeld has pointed out many times here before, that includes the a href="http://www.smartprofitsreport.com/archives/2008/healthcare-investments489.html"healthcare/a and a href="http://www.smartprofitsreport.com/archives/2008/biotech-stocks514.html"biotech/a sectors. And far from procrastinating, Marc just issued his “Five Predictions For The Healthcare Sector In 2009″ for emXcelerated Profits Report/em subscribers in the January issue. If you’re not#8230;/p/blockquote

ConEd with a Mixed Outlook – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:37:15 +0000

New York City-based Consolidated Edison, Inc., a.k.a. ConEd (ED) is a diversified utility holding company with subsidiaries engaged in both regulated and unregulated businesses. Stable regulated utility operations, gains from the sale of generation projects, a reasonably strong balance sheet, strong cash flow, regulated rate increases and earnings from non-regulated businesses collectively make Consolidated Edison a conservative income-based investment story.

ED offers an above-industry average dividend yield, competitive with Treasury yields. However, the issues of future electricity sales growth, rising cost structure, and increasing capital expenditure continue to restrain valuation.

Accordingly, with a mixed outlook, we maintain our market-neutral HOLD recommendation on ED common stock with a six-month target price of $43.00. Price appreciation to our near-term valuation target, coupled with the recently increased $0.585 per share quarterly dividend which appears sustainable assuming modest projected EPS growth represents annualized total return potential of 12.5%.

Read the full analyst report on ED

"ED" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Insider Sales Continue to Make Execs Rich

CEO Blogger — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:44:07 +0000

Track Insider sales at: http://trackthepros.com/stocks/category/37 SELLERS: COMPANY NAME INSIDERS NAME TITLE $ VALUE NO. OF SHARES IN TRANS. RANGE OF VALUES TRANSACTIONS DATES Alexander’s S. Roth CEO $39,477,500 100,000 394.78 Sept. 15, 2008 Smithfield Foods J. Luter D 8,291,754 406,900 20.10-20.38 Sept. 16-17, 2008 Consolidated Edison E. Mcgrath D 6,693,000 150,000 44.62 Sept. 16, 2008 CF Industries Holdings D. Barnard GC 3,282,137 27,350 120.01 Sept. 17, 2008 Energy East F. Mcclain O 2,965,855 104,065 28.50 Sept. 16, 2008 BSD Medical H. Mead P 2,340,000 325,000 7.20 Sept. 16, 2008 Hewlett Packard R. Bradley O 2,034,000 42,375 48.00 Sept. 16, 2008 Heartland Payment Systems R. Carr CEO 2,022,668 80,000 24.85-25.52 Sept. 16-17, 2008 [...]