Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Short Interest Down 5.8% in January

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ES. Barclays lowered their price objective on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

ES opened at $61.57 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $57.95 and its 200 day moving average is $62.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.22, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.62. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 4.73% and a positive return on equity of 10.90%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently -182.17%.

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.