Eversource Energy (ES) PT Lowered to $55 at Scotiabank

Scotiabank analyst Andrew Weisel lowered the price target on Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES) to $55.00 (from $56.00) while maintaining a Sector Underperform rating.

The analyst commented: "We remain bearish on ES, which is our least favorite U.S. utility stock, given a combination of below-average growth, tough regulatory relationships in CT (to put it lightly), and a strained credit profile (though progress is no doubt being made). The 4Q24 update was generally in line, though the details were incrementally negative: 2025 earnings guidance and the capex updates were slightly lighter than expected, equity needs were a bit higher than anticipated, and the timeline for the Aquarion sale is somewhat delayed vs. prior expectations. We lower our EPS estimates by ~2% and trim our TP by another $1, to $55. Though the stock is cheap and sentiment is unambiguously negative, we still see an unattractive risk/reward from here given that ES will need to face CT regulators quite a bit in 2025. We struggle to see NT catalysts that would drive a positive re-rating, and instead worry that things could get worse before they get better. Hence, we remain bearish despite the ~30% P/E discount to the median of our coverage, though credit management for proactively addressing some key challenges. ES reported 4Q24 EPS of $1.01, matching our estimate and above consensus of $0.99."

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