Focus Partners Wealth Increases Stock Holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 1,775.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 438,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 415,222 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $25,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ES. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,470,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $945,893,000 after buying an additional 4,585,232 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $188,838,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,691,000 after buying an additional 1,579,818 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,561,936,000 after buying an additional 1,387,072 shares during the period. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,474,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $371,829,000 after buying an additional 890,514 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ES. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $58.00 price objective (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Eversource Energy from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of ES opened at $62.97 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.35 and a 200-day moving average of $59.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. The business’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is 129.74%.

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.