Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 343,306 Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 343,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,716,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Eversource Energy as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Eversource Energy by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 9,981 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $99,554,000 after purchasing an additional 510,582 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 46.9% during the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 31,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,151,000 after purchasing an additional 10,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 125.2% during the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 8,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ES traded up $0.08 on Thursday, reaching $61.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,484,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,173,731. The company has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $54.75 and a 1-year 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.93.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. This is an increase from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is 130.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ES. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of 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. 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. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Company 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.