Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 4,643 Shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX) by 8.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 56,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,643 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Edison International were worth $4,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EIX. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Edison International during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Edison International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Edison International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Country Trust Bank purchased a new stake in Edison International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Edison International by 53.8% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. 88.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EIX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Edison International from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Edison International in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Edison International from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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, UBS Group boosted their price target on Edison International from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.75.

Edison International Stock Performance

NYSE EIX opened at $87.76 on Wednesday. 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 has a 1-year low of $63.15 and a 1-year high of $88.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.92.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.01 billion. Edison International had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 13.17%. Edison International’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Edison International will post 4.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edison International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Edison International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Edison International news, VP Adam S. Umanoff sold 25,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.03% 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.