American Century Companies Inc. Sells 75,224 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,607,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 75,224 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.26% of Eversource Energy worth $264,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ES. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $808,783,000. Amundi lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579,818 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 612,421 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 41.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 1.7% in the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on ES shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES opened at $60.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.89. 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 company has a market cap of $22.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.30%.

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.