Edison International (NYSE:EIX) Trading Up 5.5% After Dividend Announcement

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) shares traded up 5.5% on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $53.87 and last traded at $54.14. 534,074 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 6,186,142 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.34.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Edison International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EIX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Edison International in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Edison International from $94.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised Edison International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Edison International in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Edison International from $76.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.75.

Edison International Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $21.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.46.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.03). Edison International had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $17.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Edison International will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Edison International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EIX. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Edison International in the third quarter valued at approximately $308,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Edison International by 1.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 61,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,377,000 after buying an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Edison International in the third quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Edison International by 26.4% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.95% of the company’s stock.

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.