Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Edison International (NYSE:EIX) Price Target to $54.00

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) had its price target cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $54.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

EIX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Edison International in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Edison International in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Edison International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $56.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Edison International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Edison International from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.30.

Edison International Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Edison International stock opened at $62.23 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.81. Edison International has a fifty-two week low of $47.73 and a fifty-two week high of $63.19. The firm has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.83.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.18. Edison International had a net margin of 17.24% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. Edison International’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Edison International will post 4.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edison International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 7th will be given a $0.8775 dividend. This represents a $3.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. This is an increase from Edison International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 7th. Edison International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of Edison International by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 14,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Edison International in the 4th quarter valued at about $291,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Edison International by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 375,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Edison International by 187.3% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in Edison International during the 4th quarter worth about $252,000. Institutional investors own 88.95% of the company’s stock.

About Edison International

Edison International is a publicly traded utility holding company based in Rosemead, California, whose principal subsidiary is Southern California Edison (SCE). As an electric utility holding company, Edison International oversees the delivery of electricity through SCE’s integrated network of generation procurement, transmission and distribution infrastructure, serving millions of customers across central, coastal and southern California. The company’s operations focus on reliable energy delivery, customer service, regulatory compliance and long-term infrastructure planning for a complex and high-demand service territory.

The company’s activities include procuring and managing a diverse resource mix, maintaining and upgrading transmission and distribution systems, and implementing grid modernization projects.