Empowered Funds LLC Buys 5,441 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 58.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,441 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 9,981 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $99,554,000 after acquiring an additional 510,582 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 46.9% in the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 31,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,151,000 after acquiring an additional 10,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 125.2% in the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 8,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,671 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Eversource Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 0.0 %

ES traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.41. 3,830,695 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,167,062. The company's fifty day moving average price is $58.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $54.75 and a fifty-two week high of $69.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.62.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is 123.81%.

Eversource Energy Company 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.