Moors & Cabot Inc. Cuts Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lowered its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,733 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $1,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ES. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at $808,783,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 32.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 446.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 749,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,019,000 after buying an additional 612,421 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,554,000 after buying an additional 510,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,737,990,000 after buying an additional 430,587 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ES shares. StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, 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 at this link. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $59.47 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.13. 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. The firm has a market cap of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued 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, research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.30%.

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.