Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Upgraded to "Hold" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Eversource Energy from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Eversource Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.07.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

ES traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,287,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,383,062. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $52.03 and a 1 year high of $69.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -239.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.64.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.95. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.34% and a negative net margin of 0.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,059.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.94, for a total value of $32,470.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $639,464.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Eversource Energy news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 815 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total value of $53,382.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,032 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $591,596. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.94, for a total transaction of $32,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $639,464.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 3,868,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $227,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524,341 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Eversource Energy by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,385,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $191,979,000 after acquiring an additional 20,207 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,135,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,823,000 after acquiring an additional 354,429 shares in the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 1st quarter worth $156,093,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP raised its position in Eversource Energy by 730.4% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,537,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 2,231,585 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.