Wells Fargo & Company Raises Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Price Target to $72.00

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.98% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ES. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Eversource Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.23.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Eversource Energy stock traded down $0.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.01. 3,447,870 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,016,408. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.10. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $52.03 and a 1-year high of $77.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 3.60% and a positive return on equity of 10.22%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Eversource Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,621 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,369.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total value of $156,326.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,388.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eversource Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Norges Bank bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $149,906,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 19.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,464,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $259,595,000 after buying an additional 723,318 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 23.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,663,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,005,000 after buying an additional 702,360 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Eversource Energy by 1,551.5% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 708,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,196,000 after buying an additional 665,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $40,181,000. 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.