Versor Investments LP Invests $706,000 in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $706,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,691,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 136,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 55,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,197,000 after purchasing an additional 3,167 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC now owns 8,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 6,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,969 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eversource Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $63.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $58.80 and its 200 day moving average is $62.47.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is a boost 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 4.78%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ES. Barclays lowered their target price on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.