Morgan Stanley Cuts Edison International (NYSE:EIX) Price Target to $72.00

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) had its price target reduced by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $72.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 17.48% from the stock’s previous close.

EIX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Edison International from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Edison International in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Edison International from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Edison International from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Edison International from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.75.

Edison International Stock Performance

Edison International stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 677,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,023,814. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $84.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.88. Edison International has a 12-month low of $63.15 and a 12-month high of $88.77. The company has a market capitalization of $33.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.92.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.01 billion. Edison International had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 8.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Edison International will post 4.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO J Andrew Murphy sold 23,896 shares of Edison International stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.45, for a total transaction of $2,041,913.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,696,182.50. The trade was a 54.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Adam S. Umanoff sold 25,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.05, for a total value of $2,127,657.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,516 shares of company stock valued at $4,169,652. Insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Edison International

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 2.8% in the 3rd 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 increased its position in shares of Edison International by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 42,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,721,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in Edison International by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 15,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in Edison International by 2.0% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.95% of the company’s stock.

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.