Edison International (NYSE:EIX) Given New $72.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

EIX has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Edison International from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus increased their price target on Edison International from $82.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Edison International from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Edison International from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Edison International in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a buy rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Edison International presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $86.17.

Edison International Price Performance

Edison International stock opened at $86.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.07. Edison International has a 12 month low of $58.82 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The company has a market capitalization of $33.52 billion, a PE ratio of 38.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.18. Edison International had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Edison International will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Edison International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 7th. Edison International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 136.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Natalie K. Schilling sold 2,341 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $187,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,338 shares in the company, valued at $507,040. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO J Andrew Murphy sold 23,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.45, for a total value of $2,041,913.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,696,182.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Natalie K. Schilling sold 2,341 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $187,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $507,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,099 shares of company stock worth $7,223,342. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 1.7% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,344,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,438,984,000 after purchasing an additional 345,189 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Edison International by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 13,605,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $962,287,000 after acquiring an additional 305,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Edison International by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,297,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $940,562,000 after acquiring an additional 795,950 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Edison International by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,276,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,632,000 after acquiring an additional 433,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Edison International by 0.5% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,015,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $360,198,000 after purchasing an additional 24,834 shares during the last quarter. 88.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.