Brokerages Set Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Target Price at $71.27

Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.2727.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ES shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Eversource Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $79.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Eversource Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $67.27 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.42. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $75.25. The company has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.76.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 17th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.47%.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In other news, EVP James W. Hunt III sold 4,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.77, for a total value of $300,467.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,358,839.55. This represents a 11.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Eversource Energy by 56.0% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 24,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 8,622 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Eversource Energy by 57.2% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 102,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,368,000 after purchasing an additional 37,318 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 26.2% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 38,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 7,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% during the first quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 56,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after buying an additional 7,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Company Profile

Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES) is a publicly traded, regulated energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. The company’s core business is the delivery and transmission of electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of New England. Eversource operates transmission and distribution networks, maintains electrical infrastructure, responds to outages and storms, and manages natural gas pipeline and distribution systems in the regions it serves.

Eversource serves customers primarily in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, operating through locally regulated utility subsidiaries that administer customer service, billing, meter reading and localized operations.