Short Interest in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Expands By 10.2%

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,310,000 shares, a growth of 10.2% from the December 15th total of 4,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ES traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $57.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,137,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,805,250. The company has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.62. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $52.09 and a 1-year high of $69.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.95. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.90% and a negative net margin of 4.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -182.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank lowered Eversource Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Eversource Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Eversource Energy from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ES. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 46.9% in the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 31,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,151,000 after acquiring an additional 10,093 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,554,000 after acquiring an additional 510,582 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,616,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 23.2% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 134,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,636,000 after acquiring an additional 25,377 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 94.0% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 57,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,908,000 after acquiring an additional 27,817 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.