Centre Asset Management LLC Buys 199 Shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX)

Centre Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,656 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Edison International were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Edison International during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 29,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edison International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Edison International in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in Edison International by 53.8% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.95% of the company’s stock.

Edison International Trading Up 0.9 %

EIX traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.77. 128,676 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 726,042. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. Edison International has a one year low of $63.15 and a one year high of $88.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.13. The company 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%. Edison International’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Edison International will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Edison International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. This is a boost from Edison International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Edison International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EIX. Bank of America assumed coverage on Edison International in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised Edison International from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday. Argus boosted their target price on Edison International from $82.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Edison International in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Edison International from $96.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Edison International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

Insider Transactions at Edison International

In other news, VP Adam S. Umanoff sold 25,619 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.