Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.45.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ES. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 11.3% in 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. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,989,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 78,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,275 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 19,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $199,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ES opened at $58.66 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $54.75 and a 52-week high of $69.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.02 and a 200 day moving average of $62.32. 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 capitalization of $21.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.13%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

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.