Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 49,911 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 32.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 102,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 49,911 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $5,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter worth 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. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 104.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 162.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ES. Barclays decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ES opened at $63.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.54 and a 200-day moving average of $62.49. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $54.75 and a one year high of $69.01. 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 (NYSE:ES) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.74%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In other 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % 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 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.