LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Edison International (NYSE:EIX)

Key Points

• LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC has acquired 5,468 shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX), valued at approximately $322,000, as per their latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes significantly; for example, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's position grew by 364.1% in the fourth quarter.
• Edison International's recent earnings exceeded expectations with $0.97 earnings per share, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, indicating a 6.2% yield.

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,468 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Edison International by 4,633.3% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 426 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edison International in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Edison International by 159.6% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 431 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edison International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Edison International by 96.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 881 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Edison International from $75.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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 lifted their price objective on Edison International from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wolfe Research cut Edison International from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Edison International in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Edison International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.19.

Edison International Stock Performance

EIX stock traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,797,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,894,889. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.23. Edison International has a fifty-two week low of $47.73 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.75.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. Edison International had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 16.00%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Edison International will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Edison International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. Edison International's payout ratio is currently 48.60%.

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.