Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Price Target to $75.00

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

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ES. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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 lowered shares of Eversource Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $61.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $57.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.56 billion, a PE ratio of -39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.62. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $54.75 and a 52 week high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 4.73% and a positive return on equity of 10.90%. Analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.7525 dividend. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is -182.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.