Versor Investments LP Buys Shares of 12,300 Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $706,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ES. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at $808,783,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 446.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 749,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,019,000 after buying an additional 612,421 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of 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 period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,737,990,000 after purchasing an additional 430,587 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 518.1% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 480,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,683,000 after purchasing an additional 402,574 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $63.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.47. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $54.75 and a twelve month high of $69.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ES has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.45.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.