Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.75 Per Share

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of 0.7525 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72.

Eversource Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.9% annually over the last three years. Eversource Energy has a payout ratio of 59.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Eversource Energy to earn $5.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.01 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.0%.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $63.01 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $54.75 and a fifty-two week high of $69.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.45. 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 firm has a market cap of $23.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. On average, analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ES shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 accessible through this link. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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. This represents 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.

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.