Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.42.

Several analysts have issued reports on ES shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 21st. Barclays cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Eversource Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $59.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.75. The company has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.85, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $52.71 and a twelve month high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 4.73% and a positive return on equity of 10.90%. Eversource Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently -182.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eversource Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Eversource Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,737,990,000 after buying an additional 430,587 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $808,783,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Eversource Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,933,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $570,500,000 after acquiring an additional 226,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,040,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $613,233,000 after purchasing an additional 268,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Eversource Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,019,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $477,647,000 after purchasing an additional 185,381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

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.