Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Shares Acquired by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 131.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,702 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $3,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ES. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 104.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ES. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $58.00 price objective (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Eversource Energy stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $63.23. 2,129,339 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,415,769. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.81. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $69.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.61.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is 129.74%.

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.