Scotiabank Cuts Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Price Target to $57.00

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) had its price target reduced by Scotiabank from $61.00 to $57.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ES has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $85.00 to $68.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $65.85.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

NYSE ES opened at $60.85 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $52.03 and a 12-month high of $79.92. The company has a market capitalization of $21.34 billion, a PE ratio of -48.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.89 and its 200-day moving average is $57.92.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.02). Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 3.71% and a positive return on equity of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. Eversource Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently -226.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total value of $156,326.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,369.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,369.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ES. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $149,906,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake 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 buying an additional 723,318 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 23.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,663,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,005,000 after buying an additional 702,360 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 1,551.5% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 708,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,196,000 after buying an additional 665,540 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,181,000. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

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.