First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,323,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 123,808 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.36% of Eversource Energy worth $76,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ES. Commerce Bank raised its position in Eversource Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 65,320 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 640,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,757,000 after purchasing an additional 56,408 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 134.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 53,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 30,455 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $882,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 100.3% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 14,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 7,336 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ES has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Eversource Energy Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ES stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $57.86. 2,992,213 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,339,049. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $69.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $59.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.34.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.30%.

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.