Vontobel Holding Ltd. Raises Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,239 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,040 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $5,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ES. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 140,325 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,043,000 after buying an additional 6,918 shares during the last quarter. Castellan Group purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $3,563,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 111,331 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,393,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 22,516 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Eversource Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of ES traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.68. 2,852,947 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,140,499. The stock has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50-day moving average is $57.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.55. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $54.75 and a 12 month high of $69.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 6.82%. Research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 123.81%.

About Eversource Energy

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.