First Horizon Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 373 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $40,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ES. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.0% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 26.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 30,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after acquiring an additional 6,409 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 8.0% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 58,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,281 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 101,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,776,000 after acquiring an additional 2,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 8.4% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 41,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,210 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE ES opened at $62.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $54.75 and a 1 year high of $69.01. The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.67 and its 200 day moving average is $62.49.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eversource Energy news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on ES shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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, StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.45.

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.