Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 343,306 Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 343,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,716,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted 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 valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted 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 valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted 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 last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ES. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Scotiabank dropped 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. StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE ES opened at $61.50 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.01. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $54.75 and a one year high of $69.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, 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.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the 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 owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.