Jay S. Buth Sells 980 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Stock

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ES opened at $63.46 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.49. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $54.75 and a twelve month high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.74%. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently 130.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ES. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank lowered 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eversource Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $808,783,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $188,838,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579,818 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,387,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,474,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $371,829,000 after purchasing an additional 890,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

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.