United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Acquires Shares of 12,900 Edison International (NYSE:EIX)

Key Points

• United Super Pty Ltd purchased 12,900 shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX), valued at around $760,000, marking a significant new investment in the utility provider.
• Edison International reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.97 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 4.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Institutional investors hold a substantial 88.95% stake in Edison International, with several firms, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Allianz Asset Management, significantly increasing their positions recently.

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new stake in Edison International (NYSE:EIX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 12,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $760,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in Edison International during the first quarter worth about $213,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Edison International by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 53,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,167,000 after buying an additional 3,454 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 62,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Edison International in the 1st quarter worth $630,000. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,761 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. 88.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Edison International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EIX traded down $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.84. The company had a trading volume of 4,276,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,509,106. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.75. Edison International has a 12 month low of $47.73 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

Edison International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a $0.8275 dividend. 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 6.0%. Edison International's payout ratio is presently 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.