Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Price Target to $72.00

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $72.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Eversource Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a buy rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Eversource Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised Eversource Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $66.23.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

ES stock traded down $0.74 on Friday, hitting $60.01. The company had a trading volume of 3,447,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,016,408. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $52.03 and a 12-month high of $77.97. The stock has a market cap of $21.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.07.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.22% and a negative net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -242.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,369.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eversource Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 62.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.