Edison International (NYSE:EIX) Upgraded to Neutral at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $56.50 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on EIX. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Edison International from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Edison International from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Edison International from $96.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Edison International from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Edison International in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Edison International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.96.

Edison International Trading Up 4.9 %

NYSE EIX opened at $61.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. Edison International has a 12-month low of $55.27 and a 12-month high of $88.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.62.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.01 billion. Edison International had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 8.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Edison International will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Edison International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.40%. This is an increase from Edison International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Edison International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.07%.

Insider Activity

In other Edison International news, VP Adam S. Umanoff sold 25,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.05, for a total transaction of $2,127,657.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Edison International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Edison International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Edison International by 0.8% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 29,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Edison International in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Edison International in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Edison International by 125.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.95% of the company’s stock.

Edison International Company Profile

Edison International, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation and distribution of electric power. The company supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 50,000 square mile area of southern California to residential, commercial, industrial, public authorities, agricultural, and other sectors.