Edison International Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:EIX)

Key Points

• Edison International experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with a volume of 4,718 call options, representing a 43% rise from its average volume.
• Institutional investors have heavily increased their stakes in Edison International, with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raising its position by 98.7% during the first quarter.
• The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and also declared a quarterly dividend yielding 6.1%.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 4,718 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately43% compared to the typical volume of 3,309 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Edison International by 98.7% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 10,982 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 5,454 shares during the last quarter. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Edison International during the first quarter valued at about $1,151,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Edison International by 135.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 123,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,297,000 after buying an additional 71,159 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Edison International by 4,157.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 145,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,554,000 after buying an additional 141,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Edison International by 17.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 107,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,324,000 after buying an additional 15,718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.95% of the company's stock.

Edison International Stock Performance

Edison International stock traded up $0.94 on Monday, reaching $54.07. 966,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,486,673. The stock has a market cap of $20.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Edison International has a twelve month low of $47.73 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.44.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. Edison International had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Edison International will post 4.95 EPS for the current year.

Edison International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Edison International's payout ratio is currently 48.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EIX shares. Wolfe Research cut Edison International from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Edison International from $75.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Edison International from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Edison International from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Edison International in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.19.

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.

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