Edison International (NYSE:EIX) Downgraded by Guggenheim to “Neutral”

Guggenheim downgraded shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on EIX. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Edison International from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Edison International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $56.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Edison International from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Edison International from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Edison International from $87.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.88.

Edison International Trading Down 2.0 %

Edison International stock opened at $57.10 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.12. Edison International has a 52 week low of $55.27 and a 52 week high of $88.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Edison International will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Edison International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.80%. This is a boost from Edison International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Edison International’s payout ratio is currently 97.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Adam S. Umanoff sold 25,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.05, for a total value of $2,127,657.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edison International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Edison International in the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Edison International in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,387,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in Edison International by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 80,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,460,000 after acquiring an additional 5,011 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Edison International by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 9,612 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Edison International by 5.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 309,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,973,000 after purchasing an additional 15,181 shares during the period. 88.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Edison International

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.