Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 2,112 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 34.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 104.5% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ES. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.78.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In related news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total transaction of $166,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,988 shares in the company, valued at $703,232. This represents a 19.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $65.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $69.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.10.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Eversource Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 129.74%.

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.