Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 229 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 229 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $81,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ES. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the third quarter worth $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Eversource Energy by 162.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 104.5% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

Eversource Energy stock opened at $62.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $22.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $54.75 and a fifty-two week high of $69.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.49.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.