Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Sells 1,317 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,317 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ES. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Eversource Energy during the third quarter worth $808,783,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579,818 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,561,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387,072 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 446.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 749,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,019,000 after acquiring an additional 612,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,554,000 after purchasing an additional 510,582 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ES. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.40.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ES opened at $59.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $54.75 and a 52-week high of $69.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.68.

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

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.30%.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.