Analysts Set Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Target Price at $67.40

Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.40.

ES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eversource Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ES. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,111,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,829,000 after purchasing an additional 215,064 shares in the last quarter. Tableaux LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $529,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,023,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 35,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 3,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth $21,989,000. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

ES opened at $61.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $54.75 and a 1-year high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. As a group, research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently 130.30%.

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.