Barclays PLC Grows Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,140,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 44,876 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.31% of Eversource Energy worth $65,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 104.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 2.7 %

ES stock traded up $1.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.92. The stock had a trading volume of 147,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,325,329. The company's 50-day moving average price is $60.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $21.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.20%. This is an increase from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ES. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $58.00 price target (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.78.

Eversource Energy 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.