Brokerages Set Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Target Price at $65.78

Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.78.

ES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $58.00 target price (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 10th.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

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

Institutional Trading of Eversource Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 9,981 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new position in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,554,000 after buying an additional 510,582 shares during the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 125.2% in the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 8,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 73,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,198,000 after acquiring an additional 7,967 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $56.37 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $69.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.41.

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

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.34%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently 130.30%.

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.