Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Edison International (NYSE:EIX)

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 6,480 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 156% compared to the average daily volume of 2,531 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Edison International

In other Edison International news, VP Adam S. Umanoff sold 25,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.05, for a total transaction of $2,127,657.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edison International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EIX. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edison International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Edison International by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 29,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edison International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Edison International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Edison International by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. 88.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EIX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Edison International from $96.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Edison International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $56.50 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Edison International from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Edison International from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.96.

Edison International Stock Performance

NYSE EIX traded up $5.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $63.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,312,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,998,936. Edison International has a 12 month low of $55.27 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.62. The company has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 8.52%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Edison International’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Edison International will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edison International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is an increase from Edison International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Edison International’s payout ratio is currently 97.07%.

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.