Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Given New $75.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $75.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ES. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank cut Eversource Energy from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Eversource Energy stock traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $61.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,268,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,088,778. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.22, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $54.75 and a 1-year high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.90% and a negative net margin of 4.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -182.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.