Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 205,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 56,569 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Eversource Energy worth $12,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy during the first quarter worth about $1,257,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 16.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,130,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,716,000 after acquiring an additional 158,844 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 8.5% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 7,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 1.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 153,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,510,000 after acquiring an additional 2,219 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 76.9% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 133,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,763,000 after acquiring an additional 57,995 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company's stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of Eversource Energy stock traded up $0.70 on Friday, hitting $59.69. The company had a trading volume of 2,314,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,984,784. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of -47.37, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.58. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $52.03 and a 52 week high of $79.92.

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

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -226.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ES has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,621 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,369.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the company's 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 owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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