Rhumbline Advisers Trims Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Rhumbline Advisers cut its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 734,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,343 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.20% of Eversource Energy worth $42,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy during the third quarter worth about $808,783,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 446.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 749,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,019,000 after acquiring an additional 612,421 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings 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 worth $99,554,000 after acquiring an additional 510,582 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,737,990,000 after acquiring an additional 430,587 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 518.1% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 480,278 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,683,000 after acquiring an additional 402,574 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy 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 transaction, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Scotiabank dropped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ES traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.41. The stock had a trading volume of 3,830,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,167,062. The company has a market capitalization of $23.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.54. 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.

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

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is an increase from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 123.81%.

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.