24,570 Shares in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Purchased by Essential Planning LLC.

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 24,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $837,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ES. StockNews.com lowered Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

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

Eversource Energy Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE ES opened at $59.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.13. 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 52 week low of $54.75 and a 52 week high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.