Amundi Acquires 1,579,818 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Amundi lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,579,818 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 1.77% of Eversource Energy worth $367,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ES. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 301 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. 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. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Eversource Energy stock opened at $60.97 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $54.75 and a 52 week high of $69.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $59.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market cap of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS 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 year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. Eversource Energy’s 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.