Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,415,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,274 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.66% of Eversource Energy worth $154,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 53,820 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,052,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 998 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 170,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,695,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 31,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 14,475 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ES shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Eversource Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eversource Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.38.

Eversource Energy Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of ES stock traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $58.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,334,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,366,026. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $63.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.16. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $52.09 and a 52-week high of $69.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.30 billion, a PE ratio of -37.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 4.73% and a positive return on equity of 10.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -182.17%.

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.