Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,387,072 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.18% of Eversource Energy worth $2,561,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ES shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.40.

Insider Activity

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE ES traded up $0.83 on Friday, hitting $61.13. 1,660,703 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,263,684. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.28 and a 200 day moving average of $61.53. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $54.75 and a twelve month high of $69.01. The company has a market capitalization of $22.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.7525 dividend. This is an increase from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.30%.

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.