Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.40.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ES shares. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Eversource Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st.

Remove Ads

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of ES traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.13. 1,660,703 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,262,319. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $54.75 and a 52-week high of $69.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.67.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. On average, equities analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,671 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eversource Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $808,783,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $188,838,000. Amundi lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $367,691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579,818 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,561,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,474,477 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $371,829,000 after acquiring an additional 890,514 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company's stock.

About Eversource Energy

Eversource Energy, a public utility holding company, engages in the energy delivery business. The company operates through Electric Distribution, Electric Transmission, Natural Gas Distribution, and Water Distribution segments. It is involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity; solar power facilities; and distribution of natural gas.