Magellan Asset Management Ltd Has $371.83 Million Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,474,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 890,514 shares during the quarter. Eversource Energy makes up 4.1% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $371,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ES. Pitcairn Co. boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 65.5% during the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 5,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,279 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 166.5% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 101,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,814,000 after purchasing an additional 63,250 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 112,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,456,000 after buying an additional 26,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $497,000. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Eversource Energy news, 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 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 represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ES has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.40.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Eversource Energy stock opened at $62.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.46. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $54.75 and a 12 month high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is 130.30%.

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.