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

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $60.10. 2,172,087 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,205,422. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.12. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $54.75 and a 1-year high of $69.01. The company has a market cap of $22.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. On average, analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ES. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $808,783,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,838,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,691,000 after buying an additional 1,579,818 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,561,936,000 after buying an additional 1,387,072 shares during the period. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,474,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $371,829,000 after buying an additional 890,514 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.