Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 474,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,421 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $27,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ES. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,561,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,072 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,470,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $945,893,000 after buying an additional 4,585,232 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,933,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $570,500,000 after buying an additional 226,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eversource Energy by 3.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,040,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $613,233,000 after buying an additional 268,588 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,691,000 after buying an additional 1,579,818 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ES has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.44.

Insider Activity

In other Eversource Energy news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of ES opened at $58.48 on Monday. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.73 and its 200 day moving average is $61.31.

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 net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.