Prudential PLC Trims Stock Holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,228 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $8,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 3,810.3% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 15,954 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 15,546 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 59,170 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 50.2% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 11,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Eversource Energy by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 32,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,211,000 after purchasing an additional 10,543 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,737,990,000 after purchasing an additional 430,587 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ES shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $58.00 price target (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.50.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ES traded down $1.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $55.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,123,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,310,567. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.7525 dividend. 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 5.46%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.