Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.79 Per Share

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of 0.7875 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This is a 4.7% increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75.

Eversource Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Eversource Energy has a payout ratio of 60.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Eversource Energy to earn $5.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.01 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.0%.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ES traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,249,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,182,683. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $67.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $52.28 and a one year high of $75.25.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eversource Energy news, EVP James W. Hunt III sold 4,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.77, for a total transaction of $300,467.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,358,839.55. The trade was a 11.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eversource Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Eversource Energy by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 40.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 30,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 8,984 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 115.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 21.7% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.9% during the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

About Eversource Energy

Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES) is a publicly traded, regulated energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. The company’s core business is the delivery and transmission of electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of New England. Eversource operates transmission and distribution networks, maintains electrical infrastructure, responds to outages and storms, and manages natural gas pipeline and distribution systems in the regions it serves.

Eversource serves customers primarily in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, operating through locally regulated utility subsidiaries that administer customer service, billing, meter reading and localized operations.