Invesco Ltd. Grows Holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,004,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 850,217 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.64% of Eversource Energy worth $344,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in Eversource Energy by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 9,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 7,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 4.0 %

ES opened at $56.42 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.50 and its 200-day moving average is $60.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $69.01. 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 (NYSE:ES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is 130.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ES shares. StockNews.com lowered Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Barclays cut their target price on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.44.

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.