Short Interest in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Drops By 5.8%

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,840,000 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the January 15th total of 5,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Eversource Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 3.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,737,990,000 after purchasing an additional 430,587 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,470,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $945,893,000 after purchasing an additional 4,585,232 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,933,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $570,500,000 after purchasing an additional 226,972 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,557,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $547,550,000 after purchasing an additional 517,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $61.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $54.75 and a 1 year high of $69.01. The firm has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a PE ratio of -39.22, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.62.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.90% and a negative net margin of 4.73%. Analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -182.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ES has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Company Profile

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.