Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Position Trimmed by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,663 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 30,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 6,409 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 58,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,281 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Eversource Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 101,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,776,000 after purchasing an additional 2,665 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 41,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after buying an additional 3,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, 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 value of $61,730.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’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 value of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ES has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

ES opened at $63.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.54 and a 200-day moving average of $62.49. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $54.75 and a 52-week high of $69.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.74%. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.30%.

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.