LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Upgrades Edison International (NYSE:EIX) to “Neutral”

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) was upgraded by investment analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $56.50 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s target price indicates a potential downside of 3.44% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on EIX. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Edison International in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Edison International from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Edison International from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Edison International from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.96.

Edison International Stock Performance

Shares of EIX stock opened at $58.51 on Wednesday. Edison International has a 12 month low of $55.27 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.62. The firm has a market cap of $22.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Edison International will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Edison International

In other news, VP Adam S. Umanoff sold 25,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 accessible through the SEC website. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edison International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Edison International during the second quarter worth $703,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Edison International in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Edison International by 1.8% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 74,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Edison International by 87.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Edison International by 15.3% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $753,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares during the period. 88.95% of the stock is currently 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.