Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Stock Position Reduced by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 729,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 107,301 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $41,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ES. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 162.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 2.8% in the third 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. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 37.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 625,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,211,000 after purchasing an additional 30,903 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ES shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Scotiabank reduced their target price 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.40.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $60.31 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.67. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $54.75 and a fifty-two week high of $69.01. The firm has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently 130.30%.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

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

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.