Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Upgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

ES has been the topic of several other reports. Guggenheim upgraded Eversource Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $60.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Eversource Energy from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Mizuho raised Eversource Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Eversource Energy from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $65.08.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES opened at $59.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $56.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.10. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $52.03 and a 1 year high of $81.36.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 3.71%. Eversource Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.55 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 Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -226.98%.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In related news, insider Faasen William C. Van sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $147,913.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,619 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,235.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Faasen William C. Van sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $147,913.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,619 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,235.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,250 shares of company stock worth $352,014 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 10.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 450,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,168,000 after acquiring an additional 43,720 shares during the last quarter. OLD Republic International Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the third quarter valued at $27,283,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 9.8% during the second quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,724,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $193,203,000 after buying an additional 242,898 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 19.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,464,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $259,595,000 after buying an additional 723,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 11.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 172,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,003,000 after buying an additional 17,345 shares during the last quarter. 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.