Chatham Capital Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. cut its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 984 shares during the quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 104.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $58.66 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $54.75 and a 52 week high of $69.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.32. The firm has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 130.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ES. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.45.

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.