FIL Ltd Increases Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,429 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,780 shares during the period. FIL Ltd's holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $3,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 9,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 7,732 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eversource Energy news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of Eversource Energy stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.38. 3,762,639 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,332,387. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.30 and a 200 day moving average of $60.63. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $69.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS 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, analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change 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 5.25%. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio is 130.30%.

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.