Scotiabank Downgrades Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) to Sector Underperform

Scotiabank downgraded shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) from a sector perform rating to a sector underperform rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $56.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $66.00.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays increased their price target on Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Eversource Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.38.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Eversource Energy stock opened at $59.52 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.17 and its 200 day moving average is $63.12. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $52.09 and a one year high of $69.01. The firm has a market cap of $21.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.60. 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 (NYSE:ES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 4.73% and a positive return on equity of 10.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -182.17%.

Institutional Trading of Eversource Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at about $808,783,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eversource Energy by 201.4% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 974,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,273,000 after purchasing an additional 651,263 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 446.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 749,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,019,000 after buying an additional 612,421 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 75.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,307,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,142,000 after buying an additional 563,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,737,990,000 after buying an additional 430,587 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by 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.