Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $33,000 Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 49.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Eversource Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,650,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $448,567,000 after buying an additional 353,171 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,628,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $385,457,000 after purchasing an additional 163,053 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,299,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $388,509,000 after purchasing an additional 475,341 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 19.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,464,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $259,595,000 after purchasing an additional 723,318 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,237,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,409,000 after purchasing an additional 111,294 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

ES opened at $57.18 on Monday. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $52.03 and a 1-year high of $74.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.82.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 3.60% and a positive return on equity of 10.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently -242.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $50.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $62.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.07.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In other news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.75, for a total transaction of $158,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $603,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Eversource Energy news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.75, for a total value of $158,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory B. Butler sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.20, for a total transaction of $562,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 63,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,009.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.