Comparing Eversource Energy (ES) & The Competition

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) is one of 105 public companies in the “Electric Utilities” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Eversource Energy to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Eversource Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Eversource Energy pays out 81.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Electric Utilities” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.1% and pay out 64.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Eversource Energy has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Eversource Energy and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eversource Energy	3	6	4	0	2.08
Eversource Energy Competitors	1429	6555	5530	145	2.32

Eversource Energy presently has a consensus target price of $72.91, indicating a potential upside of 0.12%. As a group, “Electric Utilities” companies have a potential upside of 4.16%. Given Eversource Energy’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Eversource Energy has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Eversource Energy and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eversource Energy	$14.00 billion	$1.69 billion	18.87
Eversource Energy Competitors	$14.19 billion	$1.54 billion	20.26

Eversource Energy’s competitors have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Eversource Energy. Eversource Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.0% of Eversource Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.0% of shares of all “Electric Utilities” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Eversource Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of shares of all “Electric Utilities” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Eversource Energy and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eversource Energy	10.35%	11.33%	2.91%
Eversource Energy Competitors	14.15%	9.68%	3.20%

Risk and Volatility

Eversource Energy has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eversource Energy’s competitors have a beta of -2.25, indicating that their average stock price is 325% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Eversource Energy competitors beat Eversource Energy on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

Eversource Energy Company Profile

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. The company operates regulated water utilities that provide water services to approximately 241,000 customers. It serves residential, commercial, industrial, municipal and fire protection, and other customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The company was formerly known as Northeast Utilities and changed its name to Eversource Energy in April 2015. Eversource Energy was incorporated in 1927 and is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts.