Baird Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Eversource Energy $ES

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Eversource Energy by 16.3% during the first quarter, selling 8,540 shares and now owning 43,781 shares valued at approximately $2.72 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Eversource Energy, with Panagora Asset Management growing its stake by 148.6%, now owning 270,663 shares valued at $16.81 million.
• Brokerages have recently adjusted their ratings on Eversource Energy, with Mizuho increasing the price target from $68.00 to $72.00 and assigning an "outperform" rating.

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 16.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,781 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,540 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $2,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 168.7% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 610 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 3,529.4% during the first quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 617 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Loretta D. Keane acquired 3,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.07 per share, with a total value of $249,744.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 12,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $795,020.31. This represents a 45.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ES traded up $0.60 on Friday, reaching $65.65. 2,168,881 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,362,623. The firm has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.73. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $68.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Eversource Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.670-4.820 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is presently 129.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ES. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.38.

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.