Eversource Energy $ES Stock Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 83.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 279,425 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $3,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 161.7% in the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,169,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 138,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after acquiring an additional 69,477 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,822,000. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 28,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Eversource Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Barclays initiated coverage on Eversource Energy in a research note on Friday, November 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on Eversource Energy in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.17.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 0.8%

ES opened at $71.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $62.72 and a 12 month high of $76.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.02.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.67% and a net margin of 10.38%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Eversource Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.7875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $3.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.11%.

About Eversource Energy

Eversource Energy is a public utility holding company that delivers electricity and natural gas to customers in New England. Its businesses include electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, and related energy services. The company serves customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire through local utility subsidiaries. Its operations include maintaining and upgrading the networks used to deliver energy to homes and businesses. Eversource traces its history to Northeast Utilities, which adopted the Eversource Energy name in 2015 after combining with NSTAR.