Swedbank AB Buys 30,294 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Swedbank AB grew its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 554,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,294 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.15% of Eversource Energy worth $31,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 62.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 162.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Eversource Energy stock opened at $57.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.02 billion, a PE ratio of -36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.62. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $52.71 and a 1-year high of $69.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 4.73% and a positive return on equity of 10.90%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -182.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Scotiabank downgraded Eversource Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Eversource Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.42.

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.