Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lowered shares of Eversource Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.38.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $56.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a PE ratio of -36.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $52.09 and a 1 year high of $69.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.06 billion. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.90% and a negative net margin of 4.73%. Eversource Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -182.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ES. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 14.7% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 27.4% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Company Profile

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.