Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Stock Holdings Boosted by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,040 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $5,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 140,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,043,000 after purchasing an additional 6,918 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth $3,563,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 111,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,393,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 22,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,293,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $61.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $54.75 and a 1 year high of $69.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.66. The firm has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.62.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.90% and a negative net margin of 4.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -182.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ES. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy 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.