Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 338 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $1,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ES. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 162.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their price target 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $63.41 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.50. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $54.75 and a 1-year 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.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share 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%. Analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. 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 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently 123.81%.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.