Slagle Financial LLC Purchases 14,882 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Slagle Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,882 shares during the quarter. Eversource Energy accounts for about 2.3% of Slagle Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Slagle Financial LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $5,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 162.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 37.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 5.2% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 625,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,211,000 after buying an additional 30,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on ES shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

ES opened at $60.31 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $54.75 and a twelve month high of $69.01. The stock has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.21 and its 200-day moving average is $61.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.7525 dividend. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.