Whittier Trust Co. Boosts Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank decreased their price objective 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 dropped their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $60.98 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The company has a market cap of $22.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.85. 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 (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is 130.30%.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.