Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) announced fiscal third quarter results with EPS of $1.16, which beat both the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04 and the year-ago profit of 98 cents.   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 that provides electricity to roughly 3.3 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.   Consolidated Edison’s unregulated businesses operate through three subsidiaries: Consolidated Edison Development (engaged in

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Entergy Corp.’s (ETR) proposed spin-off of its Non-utility Nuclear power business has been relegated to fiscal 2010. Recently, the New York Public Service Commission’s two administrative law judges in a ruling stated their apprehension regarding the new company having the financial viability to operate three units located in the state of New York. Of this, two units are located in the Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester County and a reactor at the James A. Fitzpatrick station in Oswego County. The New York Public Service Commission expressed its apprehension that the $3.5 billion worth of long-term unsecured bonds that Entergy plans to issue for the spin-off will drag down the bond rating of the new company, affecting its financial capacity. The Commission has also relegated its next hearing to December 2009 followed by a final decision on the spin-off in January 2010. Entergy has been ...

Consolidated Edison Inc.’s (ED) fiscal second-quarter earnings stood at 48 cents per share that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and was ahead of the year-ago EPS of 42 cents. However, GAAP EPS of 55 cents was almost one-fourth of the year-ago figure of $2.02. However, year-ago quarterly earnings were boosted by a $260 million gain on sale of assets.

The EPS variations reflect the year-over-year differences, where Con Edison of New York benefited from 28 cents per share as higher rates authorized higher recovery of costs. This was partially offset by 6 cents from higher operations and maintenance expense, 12 cents from depreciation and 5 cents from interest expense, and 1 cent from dilutive stock issuance. The net effect was a 4-cent spike in EPS year over year while Orange and Rockland utilities remained steady.   The real variation in EPS year over year came from Competitive

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Entergy Corp. (ETR) recently got a breather as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a pending half-yearly extension on its spin-off effort. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given Entergy an additional six months to get the pending regulatory approvals in New York and Vermont and procure the required financing to spin off five nuclear plants. Earlier in May, Entergy had requested a six-month extension to tide over the hurdles.

Entergy wants to spin off the nuclear plants as a new company – Enexus Energy Corp. The nuclear plants are Pilgrim in Plymouth, Massachusetts; Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vermont; Indian Point in Westchester County, New York; Fitzpatrick in Oswego County, New York and the Palisades plant in Covert, Michigan.

Entergy plans to finish the spin-off of its non-utility nuclear power business by end of 2009. The spin-off will leave the company with five regulated utilities and other assets in the

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Equity income is a good choice for conservative investors who need to rely upon their portfolio to provide income to support their lifestyle.

Equity income investing tends to involve a trade-off between capital gains potential and current cash flow to the investor.  In a depressed market such as the one we are in now, equity income in “safe” companies offers more potential for capital gains than usual, making dividend investing all the more attractive to the conservative investor.

What About Bonds?

Bonds are good for income too, but the income does not increase (with the possible exception of inflation protected bonds and perhaps some variable rate bonds).  Bonds have a definite capital preservation and volatility reduction role in portfolios — and a tax reduction role in the case of municipal bonds.  Dividends from successful companies, however, tend to increase over time, helping the portfolio maintain the purchasing power of its cash income stream.

Contribution

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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

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Connecticut Hedge FundsConnecticut Hedge Fund GuideHere is a short collection of articles on the hedge fund industry in Connecticut. I am always looking for more valuable online tools and resources to add to these geographical hedge fund guides to the hedge fund industry. If you have a white paper or PowerPoint that I can include here please send me an email and I will post it for everyone's benefit.Look at a map and it would seem that companies and businesses looking to move out of New York City and into nearby suburbs would naturally choose Westchester County the city's immediate northern suburb. But when hedge fund managers began moving out of Manhattan a few decades ago, they ...