Virtu Financial LLC Invests $1.26 Million in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 21,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,257,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 99.2% during the 4th 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. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 104.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Eversource Energy stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $60.31. 1,487,320 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,169,001. The firm's fifty day moving average is $60.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.68. The company has a market capitalization of $22.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $54.75 and a fifty-two week 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.

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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 (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%. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. This is an increase from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio is 130.30%.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Eversource Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.40.

Eversource Energy 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.