Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 993 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ES. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Eversource Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Eversource Energy by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Eversource Energy by 162.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Eversource Energy by 104.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eversource Energy news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Eversource Energy stock opened at $61.50 on Monday. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The company has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $59.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ES. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.