3,288,144 Shares in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,288,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $188,838,000. Norges Bank owned 0.90% of Eversource Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Eversource Energy by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,306,000 after buying an additional 9,981 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,554,000 after acquiring an additional 510,582 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 125.2% in the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 8,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,616,000. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ES opened at $61.13 on Monday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $60.28 and its 200-day moving average is $61.53. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.30%.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ES has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.40.

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.