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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ES. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ES opened at $63.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.41. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $54.75 and a 1 year high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Equities analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eversource Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at about $808,783,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,838,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579,818 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Eversource Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,561,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,474,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $371,829,000 after purchasing an additional 890,514 shares in the last quarter. 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.