Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Given New $66.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) had its price target upped by BMO Capital Markets from $65.00 to $66.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Eversource Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a buy rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim raised shares of Eversource Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $66.23.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ES opened at $59.71 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.21 and its 200-day moving average is $58.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $52.03 and a 52 week high of $77.92.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 3.60% and a positive return on equity of 10.22%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -242.37%.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In other news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,650,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $448,567,000 after acquiring an additional 353,171 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,628,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $385,457,000 after acquiring an additional 163,053 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,299,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $388,509,000 after acquiring an additional 475,341 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 19.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,464,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $259,595,000 after acquiring an additional 723,318 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,237,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,409,000 after acquiring an additional 111,294 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.