Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on ES. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

Eversource Energy stock opened at $61.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.08. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $54.75 and a 52 week high of $69.01.

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 net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. On average, analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eversource Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $808,783,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,838,000. Amundi lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,579,818 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,387,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 890,514 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.