Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ES shares. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target (down from $81.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Eversource Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ES opened at $70.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.71. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $75.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $68.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.39.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Eversource Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800-4.950 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.7875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ES. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Eversource Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,794 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 50,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,415,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 218.7% in the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 94,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,388,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $514,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

About Eversource Energy

Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES) is a publicly traded, regulated energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. The company’s core business is the delivery and transmission of electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of New England. Eversource operates transmission and distribution networks, maintains electrical infrastructure, responds to outages and storms, and manages natural gas pipeline and distribution systems in the regions it serves.

Eversource serves customers primarily in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, operating through locally regulated utility subsidiaries that administer customer service, billing, meter reading and localized operations.