Magellan Asset Management Ltd Raises Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Eversource Energy by 6.2%, owning approximately 6.88 million shares valued at $427 million, making it the firm's 3rd largest investment.
• Eversource Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $0.96, beating estimates by $0.01, despite revenue falling short of expectations at $2.84 billion.
• Recent analyst upgrades include a target price increase from Mizuho and BMO Capital Markets to $72.00, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $65.56 among analysts.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,876,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 401,866 shares during the quarter. Eversource Energy accounts for approximately 5.2% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 1.87% of Eversource Energy worth $427,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the first quarter worth about $60,273,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,719,720 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $155,981,000 after buying an additional 645,257 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,699,583 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $212,467,000 after buying an additional 564,409 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,517,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $316,857,000 after acquiring an additional 561,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 7,616.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 424,273 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,352,000 after acquiring an additional 418,775 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ES. Bank of America increased their target price on Eversource Energy from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.56.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of ES traded down $0.72 on Thursday, hitting $65.58. 913,813 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,690,498. The company has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.61. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $52.28 and a one year high of $69.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.09.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 6.60%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total transaction of $166,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,988 shares in the company, valued at $703,232. This represents a 19.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.