KBC Group NV Purchases 11,764 Shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX)

KBC Group NV grew its position in Edison International (NYSE:EIX) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,764 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Edison International were worth $4,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EIX. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Edison International in the third quarter worth $26,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of Edison International by 0.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Edison International in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Edison International by 125.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Edison International during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.95% of the company’s stock.

Edison International Stock Performance

EIX stock opened at $53.94 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.56. Edison International has a fifty-two week low of $53.52 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.93.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Edison International will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

Edison International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. This is an increase from Edison International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.14%. Edison International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Edison International from $76.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Edison International from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Edison International from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Edison International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Edison International from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.88.

Edison International 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.