Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 49.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,552 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $1,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ES. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Eversource Energy by 10.5% in the fourth 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. raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 38.4% during the fourth 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 lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 4.6% during the fourth 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. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $837,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Barclays cut their target price on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ES opened at $60.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Equities research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is 130.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.