South Dakota Investment Council Has $1.93 Million Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

South Dakota Investment Council boosted its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 33,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $1,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 4.6% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ES opened at $63.41 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $54.75 and a 1 year high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. As a group, research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently 123.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ES has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.45.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.