Verity & Verity LLC Sells 6,627 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Verity & Verity LLC decreased its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 51.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,627 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Eversource Energy by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 24,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 1st quarter worth $238,000. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 1st quarter worth $934,000. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in Eversource Energy by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,436 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ES has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Eversource Energy from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on 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. Wall Street Zen raised Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of ES stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,750,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,457,337. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $61.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.15. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $69.01. 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 company has a market cap of $23.93 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is 129.74%.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In related news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total value of $166,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at $703,232. The trade was a 19.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.