Wealthspire Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 436 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 104.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 162.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES stock opened at $62.53 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $58.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.49. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. 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 (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.7525 dividend. This is a boost 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 4.81%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.45.

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.