Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 5,780 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Everence Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,780 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $1,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ES. Wealth Alliance increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 5,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $261,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 20,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after buying an additional 4,784 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $247,000. Finally, S. R. Schill & Associates acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $297,000. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES stock opened at $57.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $52.03 and a 1-year high of $79.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.77.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 3.71%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -226.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total value of $156,326.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,388.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,250 shares of company stock valued at $352,014 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ES. Barclays lowered their price objective on Eversource Energy from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Argus cut their price objective on Eversource Energy from $85.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Eversource Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.08.

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.