Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Shares Sold by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. trimmed its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 308 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,737,990,000 after purchasing an additional 430,587 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Eversource Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $808,783,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,933,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $570,500,000 after purchasing an additional 226,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 3.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,040,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $613,233,000 after purchasing an additional 268,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,019,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $477,647,000 after buying an additional 185,381 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Eversource Energy stock opened at $60.97 on Monday. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $54.75 and a 12 month high of $69.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.7525 dividend. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ES shares. 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. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the company’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.