Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Given New $72.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) had its target price hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $71.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ES has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lowered 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $58.00 price objective (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of ES stock opened at $59.11 on Monday. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $59.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.22. The company has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (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 predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is 130.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,470,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $945,893,000 after buying an additional 4,585,232 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,838,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,561,936,000 after buying an additional 1,387,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $60,273,000. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.