Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,280 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ES. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $808,783,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 446.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 749,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,019,000 after purchasing an additional 612,421 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 75.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,307,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,142,000 after purchasing an additional 563,756 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,554,000 after acquiring an additional 510,582 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,737,990,000 after acquiring an additional 430,587 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $55.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.86. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $52.09 and a 52-week high of $69.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.97.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.90% and a negative net margin of 4.73%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.13%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -182.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ES shares. StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 21st. Scotiabank lowered Eversource Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Eversource Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.83.

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.