Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Shares Purchased by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,290 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $13,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ES. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,561,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387,072 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 430,587 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $808,783,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,933,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $570,500,000 after purchasing an additional 226,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Eversource Energy by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,040,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $613,233,000 after purchasing an additional 268,588 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 approximately $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

ES opened at $61.13 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $60.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.53. 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 company has a market capitalization of $22.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $54.75 and a 1-year high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio 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.