Eversource (ES) Q4 Earnings And Revenues Miss Estimates

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) reported fourth-quarter 2019 operating earnings of 76 cents per share, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 78 cents by 2.6%. However, the reported earnings improved 4.1% year over year.

Total Revenues

Fourth-quarter revenues of $2,050.4 million lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,231 million by 8.1%. However, total revenues improved 0.8% from the year-ago figure of $2,034.9 million.

Highlights of the Release

Operating expenses decreased 1.2% year over year to $1,614.8 million, primarily owing to lower amortization costs.

Operating income was up 8.9% from the prior-year quarter to $435.6 million. Interest expenses increased 5.9% year over year to $133.6 million in the quarter.

Net income in the quarter under review was $250.1 million, up 8.1% from $231.3 million recorded in the year-ago period.

Segmental Performance

Electric Distribution & Generation: Earnings from this segment were $90.7 million, up 19% from the prior-year quarter. The upside was primarily attributable to higher distribution revenues, partially offset by increased depreciation cost, and operations and maintenance (O&M) expense.

Electric Transmission: Earnings of the segment were up 21.1% year over year to $118.1 million. The upside was due to increased investment in Eversource Energy’s transmission facilities.

Natural Gas Distribution: This segment’s earnings were down 10.2% year over year to $38.6 million. The segment’s weak results were due to higher O&M and depreciation expenses.

Water Distribution: Earnings from this segment were $8.5 million compared with $4.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

Eversource Parent & Other Companies: The segment’s loss was $5.9 million against earnings of $10.1 million in the year-ago quarter. The weak results were due to higher effective tax rate.

Guidance

Eversource provided its 2020 earnings guidance in the range of $3.60-$3.70 per share. The midpoint of management’s 2020 EPS guidance is $3.65, which is higher than the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.63 for the period.

The company expects earnings to improve 5-7% through 2024 from the 2019 base of $3.45.

Zacks Rank

Eversource currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Releases

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) reported fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $1.44 per share, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.54 by 6.5%.

Exelon Corporation’s (NASDAQ:EXC) fourth-quarter 2019 operating earnings of 83 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 73 cents by 13.6%.

Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE:D) reported fourth-quarter 2019 operating earnings of $1.18 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.16 by 1.7%.

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