StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Edison International (NYSE:EIX)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX – Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on EIX. UBS Group upgraded shares of Edison International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Edison International in a report on Monday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Edison International from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Edison International from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Edison International from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $73.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $69.64.

Edison International Price Performance

EIX stock opened at $67.76 on Thursday. Edison International has a 12 month low of $54.45 and a 12 month high of $73.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.47. The stock has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 42.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.78.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.07. Edison International had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 12.05%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Edison International will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Edison International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a $0.7375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. Edison International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 184.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EIX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Edison International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,895,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Edison International by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,732,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $401,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541,989 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Edison International by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,362,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $341,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,379 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Edison International by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,417,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $344,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Edison International by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,704,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,642,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.19% of the company’s stock.

Edison International Company Profile

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Edison International is a renewable energy company, which through its subsidiaries, generates and distributes electric power, and invests in energy services and technologies. The company was founded on July 4, 1886, and is headquartered in Rosemead, CA.