Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 709,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 62,896 shares during the quarter. Eversource Energy accounts for about 1.2% of Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Eversource Energy worth $40,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,306,000 after buying an additional 9,981 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Eversource Energy by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,554,000 after acquiring an additional 510,582 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 46.9% in the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 31,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,151,000 after acquiring an additional 10,093 shares during the period. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its position in Eversource Energy by 125.2% in the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 8,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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. Scotiabank cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.45.

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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $62.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $54.75 and a 52 week high of $69.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

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.