Consolidated Edison

Consolidated Edison is one of the largest regulated utilities in the United States, delivering electricity, natural gas and steam to New York City and its surrounding region. Serving a dense, mature service territory gives it exceptionally stable, predictable revenues, and its steam system for Manhattan is a rare and distinctive asset. Con Edison is a long-standing dividend payer with an unbroken raising streak spanning decades, one of the longest among utilities. The yield is moderate and the growth in the payout is slow, in keeping with a fully regulated, low-growth business. It represents a classic defensive income holding, prized for reliability and sensitive, like all utilities, to movements in interest rates.