Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ES. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Eversource Energy from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eversource Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

ES stock opened at $63.23 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $59.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.81. 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 firm has a market cap of $23.23 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.61. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 1st quarter worth $286,130,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Eversource Energy by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,470,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $945,893,000 after buying an additional 4,585,232 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth $188,838,000. Amundi increased its position in Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,691,000 after buying an additional 1,579,818 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 1,387,072 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.