Franklin Resources Inc. Has $139.35 Million Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,426,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,041 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.66% of Eversource Energy worth $139,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 9,981 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,554,000 after buying an additional 510,582 shares during the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 125.2% in the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 8,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at about $3,616,000. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Eversource Energy news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of Eversource Energy 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ES stock opened at $62.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.46. 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 has a one year low of $54.75 and a one year high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.80%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.40.

Eversource Energy Company 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.