Yahoo Finance Here's Why Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Has Caught The Eye Of Investors
Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.
In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES), which has not only revenues, but also profits. Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.
View our latest analysis for Eversource Energy
How Fast Is Eversource Energy Growing?
The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. Eversource Energy managed to grow EPS by 13% per year, over three years. That growth rate is fairly good, assuming the company can keep it up.
Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. EBIT margins for Eversource Energy remained fairly unchanged over the last year, however the company should be pleased to report its revenue growth for the period of 22% to US$12b. That's a real positive.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.
The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. While crystal balls don't exist, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for Eversource Energy's future EPS 100% free.
Are Eversource Energy Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Owing to the size of Eversource Energy, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a significant proportion of the company. But we are reassured by the fact they have invested in the company. Given insiders own a significant chunk of shares, currently valued at US$87m, they have plenty of motivation to push the business to succeed. This should keep them focused on creating long term value for shareholders.
It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? Well, based on the CEO pay, you'd argue that they are indeed. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Eversource Energy, with market caps over US$8.0b, is about US$13m.
The Eversource Energy CEO received US$6.5m in compensation for the year ending December 2021. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.
Is Eversource Energy Worth Keeping An Eye On?
One important encouraging feature of Eversource Energy is that it is growing profits. The fact that EPS is growing is a genuine positive for Eversource Energy, but the pleasant picture gets better than that. With a meaningful level of insider ownership, and reasonable CEO pay, a reasonable mind might conclude that this is one stock worth watching. It's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Eversource Energy (at least 1 which is concerning) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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