Westpac Banking Corp Boosts Holdings in Eversource Energy $ES

Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 135,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,643 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $8,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 4.7% during the second quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 6,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 14,418 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 17.9% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In other news, EVP James W. Hunt III sold 4,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.77, for a total value of $300,467.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,358,839.55. The trade was a 11.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Loretta D. Keane bought 3,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.07 per share, for a total transaction of $249,744.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $795,020.31. The trade was a 45.80% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $73.31 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $70.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.56. The stock has a market cap of $27.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.71. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $52.28 and a one year high of $75.25.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.07. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 10.22%.The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $79.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Eversource Energy from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.70.

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.