UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Downgrades Northeast Utilities System to Neutral on Relative Valuation

In a report published Wednesday, Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Lapides downgraded the rating on Northeast Utilities System

from Conviction List Buy to Neutral, but raised the price target to $44.00. In the report, Lapides noted, “After share price outperformance relative to the broader S&P 500 and the utilities sector in general, we downgrade Northeast Utilities (NU) to Neutral from Buy, and remove NU from the Conviction List, largely on relative valuation. While we raise our target price slightly and remain 3% above consensus for 2014-2015, our valuation implies only 4%-5% total return potential, below levels expected from Buy-rated large-cap names such as NEE, XEL, PPL, and EIX. Since added to the Buy List and Conviction List on April 12, 2012, NU is up 22% compared to 14% for the sector index and 13% for the S&P 500.” Northeast Utilities System closed on Tuesday at $43.46.