Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Stock Price Up 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) shares rose 1.9% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $61.65 and last traded at $61.47. Approximately 209,804 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 2,159,030 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.40.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.58.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. On average, analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 the SEC website. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This trade 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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,111,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,829,000 after buying an additional 215,064 shares during the period. Tableaux LLC acquired a new position in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $529,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,023,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 35,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 3,551 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,989,000. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.