Eversource Energy $ES Stock Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 346,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 30,332 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $22,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 4.3% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 7,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 11,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC raised its position in Eversource Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 27,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,734,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 5,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $70.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.02. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $62.72 and a 12 month high of $76.57.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 10.38% and a return on equity of 10.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.7875 per share. This represents a $3.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ES. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. HSBC began coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.17.

Eversource Energy Company Profile

Eversource Energy is a public utility holding company that delivers electricity and natural gas to customers in New England. Its businesses include electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, and related energy services. The company serves customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire through local utility subsidiaries. Its operations include maintaining and upgrading the networks used to deliver energy to homes and businesses. Eversource traces its history to Northeast Utilities, which adopted the Eversource Energy name in 2015 after combining with NSTAR.