Consolidated Edison upgraded to Neutral at BofA on capital deployment plans

BofA analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith upgraded Consolidated Edison to Neutral from Underperform with a price target of $95, up from $78, after "substantial updates" to the outlook this year. The sale of CEB for $6.8B to German utility RWE was announced earlier this year and he assumes a buyback of $1.8B worth of shares based on company statements regarding the use of proceeds, the analyst tells investors. He is also assuming CECONY is able to earn its authorized ROE, which he pegs at 9.2%, at the end of the current rate case that remains in settlement talks, Dumoulin-Smith added.