Edison International (EIX) and Its Rivals Critical Contrast

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) is one of 105 public companies in the “Electric Utilities” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Edison International to related companies based on the strength of its risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

Edison International has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Edison International’s competitors have a beta of -1.84, meaning that their average stock price is 284% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Edison International and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Edison International	20.50%	14.27%	2.84%
Edison International Competitors	14.09%	9.63%	3.18%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.9% of Edison International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.0% of shares of all “Electric Utilities” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Edison International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of shares of all “Electric Utilities” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Edison International and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Edison International	$18.56 billion	$4.70 billion	6.26
Edison International Competitors	$1,572.37 billion	$1.54 billion	20.00

Edison International’s competitors have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Edison International. Edison International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Edison International pays an annual dividend of $3.51 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Edison International pays out 37.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Electric Utilities” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.2% and pay out 64.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Edison International has raised its dividend for 23 consecutive years. Edison International is clearly a better dividend stock than its competitors, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Edison International and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Edison International	4	10	1	0	1.80
Edison International Competitors	1429	6534	5509	145	2.32

Edison International presently has a consensus price target of $60.73, indicating a potential upside of 3.07%. As a group, “Electric Utilities” companies have a potential upside of 5.15%. Given Edison International’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Edison International has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

Edison International competitors beat Edison International on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Edison International Company Profile

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. Its transmission facilities consist of lines ranging from 55 kV to 500 kV and approximately 80 transmission substations; distribution system consists of approximately 38,000 circuit-miles of overhead lines; approximately 31,000 circuit-miles of underground lines; and 730 distribution substations. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in Rosemead, California.