Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 343,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,716,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.09% of Eversource Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,470,356 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $945,893,000 after acquiring an additional 4,585,232 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth $188,838,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $367,691,000 after buying an additional 1,579,818 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,561,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,474,477 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $371,829,000 after acquiring an additional 890,514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Eversource Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

Eversource Energy stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $58.19. 689,139 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,330,031. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $59.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.34. 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 current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. On average, analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.7525 dividend. This is an increase from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio is 130.30%.

Eversource Energy Company 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.