Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 2,438 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,438 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Eversource Energy by 162.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, 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 through the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lowered 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their target price 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, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ES opened at $58.83 on Thursday. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $58.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is a boost 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.