Edison International Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:EIX)

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 6,480 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 156% compared to the typical volume of 2,531 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Edison International news, VP Adam S. Umanoff sold 25,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.05, for a total transaction of $2,127,657.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Edison International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Edison International by 4.3% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 2.8% during the third quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 0.3% during the third quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 42,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,721,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 32.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 7,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.95% of the company’s stock.

Edison International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EIX opened at $61.16 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. 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 $55.27 and a 1 year high of $88.77.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.01 billion. Edison International had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Edison International will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edison International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This is a boost from Edison International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Edison International’s payout ratio is presently 97.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Edison International from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Edison International in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Edison International from $87.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Edison International from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Edison International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $56.50 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.58.

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.