Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $58.49 and last traded at $59.57, with a volume of 5245352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ES has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $58.00 price target (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Eversource Energy from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business's 50-day moving average is $59.37 and its 200 day moving average is $60.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.61.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is currently 129.74%.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eversource Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,387,072 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,470,356 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $945,893,000 after buying an additional 4,585,232 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,933,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $570,500,000 after acquiring an additional 226,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,557,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $547,550,000 after acquiring an additional 517,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,352,593 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $422,259,000 after acquiring an additional 333,529 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.