Edison International (NYSE:EIX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,043,916 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the previous session’s volume of 1,749,316 shares.The stock last traded at $73.98 and had previously closed at $77.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EIX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Edison International from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on Edison International in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Edison International from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays raised Edison International from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Edison International from $82.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

Edison International Price Performance

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 $26.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.91.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last posted its 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. Edison International had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Edison International will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edison International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Edison International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Edison International’s payout ratio is 97.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Adam S. Umanoff sold 25,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Edison International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Edison International during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in Edison International by 0.8% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 29,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edison International during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Edison International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Edison International by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.