Argus Cuts Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Price Target to $68.00

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) had its price objective lowered by Argus from $85.00 to $68.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Argus currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Eversource Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays cut their target price on Eversource Energy from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Eversource Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $65.08.

Eversource Energy Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $58.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.81, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.59 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 $81.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.10.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 3.71% and a positive return on equity of 9.92%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently -226.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 21,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,388.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,250 shares of company stock valued at $352,014. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eversource Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ES. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,776,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 4,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.