Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Price Target Cut to $63.00 by Analysts at Scotiabank

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) had its target price decreased by Scotiabank from $64.00 to $63.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector underperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ES. Bank of America raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. TD Cowen started coverage on Eversource Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group lowered shares of Eversource Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (down from $81.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $69.70.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $63.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.79. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $75.25.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.07. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 10.22%.The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eversource Energy news, EVP James W. Hunt III sold 4,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.77, for a total value of $300,467.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,839.55. This represents a 11.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Eversource Energy in the first quarter valued at about $286,130,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eversource Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $274,744,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 43,905.7% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,692,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $171,309,000 after purchasing an additional 2,686,588 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Eversource Energy by 412.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,800,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,133,000 after buying an additional 1,449,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 331.5% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,566,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,446,000 after buying an additional 1,203,563 shares during the last quarter. 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.