Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.40.

ES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Eversource Energy stock opened at $61.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $54.75 and a fifty-two week high of $69.01. The stock has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.58.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. As a group, analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eversource Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,111,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,829,000 after buying an additional 215,064 shares in the last quarter. Tableaux LLC purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $529,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,023,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 35,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,010,000 after buying an additional 3,551 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,989,000. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.