Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $19.72 Million in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 343,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,716,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Eversource Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ES. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 121,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,245,000 after buying an additional 3,960 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,253,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 52,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 76.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 4,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE ES opened at $61.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.01. 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 has a 52 week low of $54.75 and a 52 week high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is 130.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ES. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eversource Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.45.

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.