Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Stake Lifted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 536.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 118,243 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 99,652 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $7,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ES. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 5,942 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 667,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,228,000 after purchasing an additional 383,743 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 300,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,571,000 after purchasing an additional 123,278 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $98,360,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Eversource Energy news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Faasen William C. Van sold 2,714 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $147,913.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,069,235.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,250 shares of company stock valued at $352,014. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ES shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.08.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of ES traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.20. 2,391,634 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,025,993. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.77. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $52.03 and a 52-week high of $79.92. The company has a market cap of $20.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.40, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.58.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.02). Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 3.71%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a $0.715 dividend. This is a boost from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is presently -226.98%.

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.