Zacks Investment Management Takes Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 15,364 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $882,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ES. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,095,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,582,000 after purchasing an additional 150,535 shares during the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 244.9% during the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 21,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 15,419 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 21,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,354,000 after purchasing an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the third quarter worth $277,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the third quarter worth $270,000. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ES stock traded up $0.78 on Thursday, hitting $58.74. 1,021,832 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,854,616. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $69.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $59.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This is a boost from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.12%. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.78.

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.