Cohen & Steers Inc. Decreases Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Cohen & Steers Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 95.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,754,624 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $4,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 21,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 6,069 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,095,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,582,000 after buying an additional 150,535 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 244.9% during the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 21,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 15,419 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 32.2% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 21,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,354,000 after acquiring an additional 5,203 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at $277,000. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ES has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.78.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eversource Energy Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $58.49 on Tuesday. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

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, topping 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%. On average, research 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.7525 dividend. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.