Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,220,000 shares, a growth of 10.1% from the March 31st total of 4,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,880,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE ES opened at $61.60 on Thursday. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $52.03 and a 1-year high of $77.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $21.60 billion, a PE ratio of -48.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.05.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 3.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is -226.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ES has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $62.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total value of $156,326.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eversource Energy during the first quarter worth $27,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Eversource Energy by 62.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.