Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $74.54, but opened at $70.41. Eversource Energy shares last traded at $67.7420, with a volume of 2,050,863 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group cut shares of Eversource Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $79.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.70.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.82. The company has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.69.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently 82.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Loretta D. Keane bought 3,780 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.07 per share, with a total value of $249,744.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 12,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $795,020.31. This trade represents a 45.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James W. Hunt III sold 4,129 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.77, for a total value of $300,467.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,358,839.55. This trade represents a 11.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ES. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,814,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,330,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161,708 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,343,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,739,564,000 after purchasing an additional 465,822 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 4.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,209,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,068,901,000 after purchasing an additional 739,448 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,273,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $587,449,000 after buying an additional 211,962 shares during the period. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 6.5% in the third quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 7,406,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $526,919,000 after buying an additional 454,658 shares during the period. 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.