Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,709,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 185,431 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $155,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ES. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $808,783,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 446.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 749,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,019,000 after acquiring an additional 612,421 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,554,000 after acquiring an additional 510,582 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,737,990,000 after acquiring an additional 430,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 518.1% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 480,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,683,000 after acquiring an additional 402,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ES. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. 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. StockNews.com lowered Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays reduced their price target on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $63.01 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. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $54.75 and a fifty-two week high of $69.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.47.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued 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 return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.30%.

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.