Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Trims Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 729,549 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 107,301 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.20% of Eversource Energy worth $41,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Eversource Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ES stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.02. 366,412 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,257,053. The company has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $60.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.50. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $54.75 and a 1-year high of $69.01.

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 the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This is a boost from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is 130.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ES has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.40.

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.