Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $61.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $65.86.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $57.19 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $20.15 billion, a PE ratio of -48.47, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $52.03 and a 52-week high of $74.81.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 3.60% and a positive return on equity of 10.32%. The firm’s revenue was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is -242.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eversource Energy news, VP Gregory B. Butler sold 10,000 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.20, for a total transaction of $562,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 63,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,009.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.75, for a total transaction of $158,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $603,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory B. Butler sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.20, for a total transaction of $562,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 63,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,009.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eversource Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 60.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 29,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 11,233 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 283.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 91,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,443,000 after acquiring an additional 67,300 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 9.2% during the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 33,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 2,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the first quarter valued at about $31,928,000. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.