Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,550,000 shares, a drop of 7.5% from the June 30th total of 4,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Eversource Energy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. UBS Group upgraded Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.43.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ES traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $66.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,578,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,540,126. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.77. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $52.03 and a one year high of $70.49.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.95. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 3.60% and a positive return on equity of 10.32%. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.75, for a total value of $158,625.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $603,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.75, for a total value of $158,625.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,272 shares in the company, valued at $603,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gregory B. Butler sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.20, for a total transaction of $562,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 63,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,009.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 49.7% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 4,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Presima Securities ULC raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 13,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 62.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in 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.