Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stock Holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 75.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 213,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 91,765 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $13,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Eversource Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,776,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 22.8% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 40.4% in the third quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 22.1% in the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In related news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total value of $156,326.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ES stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 507,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,934,163. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.87. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $52.03 and a one year high of $79.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.02). Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 3.71% and a positive return on equity of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently -226.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ES. Guggenheim upgraded Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Mizuho raised Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Argus dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $85.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.85.

Eversource Energy Company 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.