OFI Invest Asset Management Purchases New Shares in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi raised its position in Eversource Energy by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579,818 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $149,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 113,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,515,000 after purchasing an additional 22,909 shares during the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management raised its position in Eversource Energy by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 5,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 81,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,660,000 after purchasing an additional 15,650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $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. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ES shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of 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 cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of 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 restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ES opened at $61.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $54.75 and a fifty-two week high of $69.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.19. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. 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. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

Eversource Energy Company 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.