Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,426,436 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 11,041 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of Eversource Energy worth $139,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Eversource Energy by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Eversource Energy by 104.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ES shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 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 decreased their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.44.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company'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 value of $61,730.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 4.3 %

NYSE ES traded down $2.50 during trading on Monday, reaching $55.84. 1,638,587 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,283,113. 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 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $60.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.31.

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

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is a boost from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.39%. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.