Heritage Financial Services LLC Sells 250 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Heritage Financial Services LLC cut its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Heritage Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 19.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,464,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $259,595,000 after purchasing an additional 723,318 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 23.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,663,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,005,000 after acquiring an additional 702,360 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 1,551.5% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 708,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,196,000 after acquiring an additional 665,540 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 11.6% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,824,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $339,974,000 after acquiring an additional 605,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 18.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,590,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $208,815,000 after acquiring an additional 559,448 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ES. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,621 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,369.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of ES opened at $59.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.85 billion, a PE ratio of -47.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.67. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $52.03 and a fifty-two week high of $78.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.95.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 3.71%. Eversource Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -226.98%.

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.