Mizuho Bank Ltd. Invests $26,000 in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Eversource Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $808,783,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $188,838,000. Amundi boosted its position in Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579,818 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Eversource Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,561,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,072 shares during the period. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 15.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 890,514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ES. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $58.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.40. 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 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

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.