Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 311 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $2,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth $82,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 372,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,931,000 after acquiring an additional 38,786 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 104,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,470,000 after acquiring an additional 7,953 shares during the period. Finally, Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $277,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ES shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Eversource Energy from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.93.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In other news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 815 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total transaction of $53,382.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $591,596. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total value of $53,382.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $591,596. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.94, for a total value of $32,470.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $639,464.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ES stock opened at $67.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -57.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.73 and its 200 day moving average is $61.01. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $52.03 and a 12-month high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.34% and a negative net margin of 0.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. Research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently -242.37%.

About Eversource Energy

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.